Introduction Sheila's story: a mother's reflections on care, work and family Setting the scene: personal influences Researching families, childcare and policy Chapter One: Shaping Childcare Policy in the United Kingdom Introduction Approaches to policy analysis New Labour's childcare policy The Coalition, the 'big society' and welfare reform Conclusion: who benefits from childcare policy? Chapter Two: Devolution, Gender and Childcare: a Distinctive Policy Agenda in Wales? Introduction Policy innovation in post-devolution Wales: key political values The shaping of childcare policy in Wales, 1999 to 2012 Policy officers' perspectives: doing things differently? Conclusion: disconnections in policy? Chapter Three: Mothers' Perspectives on Childcare, Gender and Social Support Introduction Mothers' reflections on care: from sensitive to intensive mothering? The educational role of mothers: the pressure to be 'constantly creative' Well-being, support and stress Conclusion: personal accounts and public policy Chapter Four: Different Neighbourhoods, Unequal Support? Local Childcare Services and Networks of Informal Care Introduction Childcare and neighbourhood inequalities Parents' childcare strategies: values, challenges and informal care Parents' use of other services for families and children Conclusion: respecting diversity, providing universal services Chapter Five: Listening to Mothers and Fathers, Disrupting Policy? Introduction Review and reflections Hearing parents? Perspectives from policy officers Conclusion: making childcare policy work in Wales Conclusion: Parenthood, Gender Relations and the Care Ethic in Wales Introduction Shaping a childcare ethic Diversity, material hardship and family lives 'Hands on' dads: embracing fathers' perspectives on care Coalition and Welsh Government policies in an age of austerity Time for an alternative
