The meaning of home for children after parental separation

This project aims to identify the meaning of home for children in separated families by interviewing children and parents about children’s experiences of home and homemaking. No prior research has done so. This is despite the personal and social significance of home, the reality that most children now traverse two households if parents separate, and increasing emphasis in policy, law and professional practice on listening to children regarding their post-separation living arrangements. By describing and analysing home for children, the anticipated goal of the project is to provide a solid basis for shifting the prevailing focus on parents’ needs in application of the law towards more child-responsive parenting arrangements.