Pernille Juhl is Professor in Social Psychology at Roskilde University, Denmark.Allan Westerling is Associate Professor in Social Psychology at Roskilde University, Denmark.

• Chapter 1. The changing conditions for parenthoodPernille Juhl & Allan WesterlingIntroductionThe intersection of state and familyPublic services supporting families - the Danish version of a welfare modelEngaging with field(s) of researchInstitutional agendas interweaving family lifeThe concept of familyParental responsibilities and partnershipsEveryday life as the methodological point of departure for studying parenthoodEmpirical basis for analysesContributionsStructure of the bookReferences Chapter 2. Configurations of responsibility in Danish early childhood education and care policyPernelle Rose Hansen & Allan WesterlingIntroductionAnalytical strategy and dataThe first turn: introducing a national curriculum for ECECChanging the premise: from (just) care to (including) educationLanguage as a focus and parental involvementThe second turn: parents must support the ECEC learning agendaChildren’s language development as a vehicle for increasing parental involvementChanges in parental influence and responsibility: Parent CouncilsConcluding discussionReferences Chapter 3. Prioritising child-centredness: parental orientations in family lifePernille JuhlIntroductionDesign and empirical materialAnalytical frameworkOrientations in everyday family life’Family time’ separated from domestic chores - putting the children firstDomestic chores and childcare as combinedParental perspectives on sharing childcareBeing part of an extended family ’we’Sharing the care with ECEC staffSocietal and institutional agendas taken up in everyday family lifeDealing with a body of information in familiy lifeConcluding discussionReferencesChapter 4. Negotiating boundaries in a shared care arrangementLærke Marie LyndelseIntroductionTheoretical and empirical frameworkMethods and ethical considerationsAligning parents through dialogue: introducing an institutional agendaNegotiating boundaries: divergent understandings of ECEC and home settingsBoundary work: who has the right to determine the content of the packed lunch?Considering parents’ everyday lives in the institutional settingConcluding discussionReferencesChapter 5. Learning environments – a children’s perspectiveSimone StegeagerIntroductionAnalytical concepts: Learning, embodied orientation and materialityDesign and dataIntroducing the children - Max and VeraSetting the scene - the nursery group as a learning environmentVera’s first days - engaging socially and the safety of the strollerThe stroller as a gateway to the children’s communityMax’ first days - throwing himself into the nestThe nest and Max’ possibilities to draw on experiences from homeLearning new movements to gain access to social activities with peersPracticing getting up and down as a gateway to social activitiesThe meaning of social life for young children’s participationMimicking -naming objects and asking, ’What’s this?’Learning to sweep the floor, clean and hand out lunchboxesConcluding discussionReferencesChapter 6. Parenting and social networks: involving grandparents Allan WesterlingMixing methods as an analytical strategyAnalytical conceptsInvolving social networks in family practicesContributing something extra to family lifeResponsible for involvementNegotiating boundariesParenting together with grandparentsGenerational positions and lived biographiesThe gendered pattern of grandparentingConcluding discussionReferencesChapter 7. Parenthood reconfiguredAllan Westerling & Pernille JuhlThe structure of the chapterKey findingsThe policy changes of ECEC - intensifying parental involvementRisk - parental orientations reconfiguredChild-centredness at the intersection of family and welfare stateConclusionReferencesIndex