Being a mother during the middle childhood years: an exploration of identity and everyday life

Abstract

This interdisciplinary research explores the identity and experiences of mothers with children in middle childhood. Research has tended to focus on the experiences of first-time mothers with mothering pre-schoolers, adolescents and adult children given some attention. Middle childhood is a period of significant change for children (Collins and Madsen, 2019), which inevitably impacts on a mother, yet this time in a mother’s identity development and experience has had little academic attention. Through qualitative interviews and follow-up responses with fifteen mothers of two or more children aged between 5-12 years old, this research explored the identity and experiences of mothers in middle childhood. Data analysis aligned with Charmaz’s (2014) constructivist grounded theory resulted in the construction of five categories:(1) evolving into a different mother; (2) experiencing fulfilment and renewal; (3) aiming for an ideal; (4) controlling family life to be ‘good mother’; (5) managing mother and worker identities as a complex and individual experience. Middle childhood was found to be a distinct period of development for mothers. Participants experienced identity change, illustrated through change in meanings within their identity. The mothers proposed control as a meaning within the mother identity, developed through the substantial expectations and demands placed on mothers today. Participants considered the middle years as the “sweet spot” in mothering, with mothering multiple children experienced positively. Through exploring the influence of identity meanings, and social, cultural, economic and demographic factors, managing mother and worker identities was found to be a complex experience. This research contributes to the limited knowledge and understanding of motherhood development during middle childhood with a focus on the mother identity. It adds to discourse on mothers and work, and to the dearth of knowledge on mothering multiple children. This research draws attention to the impact of identity meanings on behaviour, emotions and everyday life.

Date of Award	May 2023
Original language	English
Sponsors	Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Maggie Long (Supervisor), Stephen Baker (Supervisor) & Kerry-Ann Porter (Supervisor)