Abstract
<jats:p>I Danmark vælger flere småbørnsforældre i disse år at hjemmepasse deres børn fremfor at sende dem i daginstitution (Danmarks Statistik,2024). I denne artikel undersøger vi, hvordan det politiske fokus på børn og daginstitutioner har bevæget sig op igennem det tyvende århundrede, og hvordan særligt de seneste 25 års politik betoner nødvendigheden af børns daglige gang i en daginstitution. Ved at følge den politiske diskurs over tid er det muligt at undersøge, hvordan hjemmepassende forældre udfordrer årtiers fortællinger om daginstitutionen som ”et nødvendigt sted” for det lille barn at være for at sikre dets udvikling. Gennem diskursanalyse af politiske dokumenter og narrativ analyse af nutidigt interviewmateriale med hjemmepassende forældre undersøger vi, hvordan forældre aktivt deltager i at forstå og forme deres familieliv og forældreskab i samspil med historiske og politiske diskurser og aktuelle narrativer (Bruner,1986). English abstract Daycare or Not? An Exploration of Parents’ Choices to Home Care for Their Children Today In Denmark, more parents of young children are choosing to care for their children at home rather than sending them to daycare (Statistics Denmark, 2024). In this article, we investigate how the political focus on children and daycare institutions has evolved throughout the twentieth century and how particularly the policies of the last 25 years emphasize the necessity of children’s daily attendance in a daycare institution. By following the political discourse over time, it is possible to examine how parents who care for their children at home challenge decades of narratives about daycare as ”a necessary place” for young children to ensure their development. Through discourse analysis of political documents and narrative analysis of contemporary interview material with parents who care for their children at home, we explore how parents actively participate in understanding and shaping their family life and parenting in interaction with historical and political discourses and current narratives (Bruner,1986).</jats:p>