Shifting Visions of the Good Life Through Early Motherhood, 2017-2021

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These data were generated as a project which was part of a five-year ESRC-funded research centre- CUSP- the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity. The Shifting Social Visions of the Good Life in Early Motherhood Project involved interviews with mothers of young children on two occasions, once in 2017/8 when their oldest child was 6-7 years old and again in 2021 when that child was 9-10 years old. These women had previously been interviewed by the researchers for an earlier project when they were pregnant and had young babies. Data explore women’s visions of ‘the good life’ in the early years of motherhood. What does everyday life with young children look like? What do mothers consider is necessary to live well with a young family, and how does this shift over time? What role is played by food, material goods, evaluations of the home and locality, networks of friends, participation in community activities and family leisure activities? What informs mothers’ aspirations and to what extent are ideas of what is necessary to live well as a family compatible with environmental sustainability? Ten women were interviewed on two occasions, the first time face to face in their homes (except for one participant who was interviewed via SKYPE) and the second time online via Zoom due to the COVID pandemic restrictions. One participant’s interviews have been redacted due to a combination of information which would make her potentially identifiable. Thus there are a total of 18 interview transcripts- 9 carried out with participants in 2017/18 and nine carried out with same participants in 2021.

The focus in this research is on mothers’ accounts of everyday family life and their understandings of what is needed to live well, their evaluation of how achievable this is and its compatibility with environmental sustainability The transition to motherhood is an extended process of shifts in everyday practice and in women’s visions of the lifestyle they want and are able to have (Burningham et al 2014). These visions vary between individuals but are also informed by ideologies of motherhood and experiences of gendered social roles (Thomson et al 2011). While care for infants in early motherhood may stimulate an ethic of care, the experience of ‘time squeeze’ (Southerton & Tomlinson 2005) associated with the practicalities of child care often militates against engagement in sustainable practices (Burningham et al ibid). In addition, commodities play a central role in the construction of ‘appropriate’ mothers and ‘proper childhoods (Clarke 2004), potentially challenging aspirations for less materialistic lifestyles. In Shifting Visions we explore women’s visions of ‘the good life’ in the early years of motherhood. What does everyday life with young children look like? What do mothers consider is necessary to live well with a young family, and how does this shift over time? What role is played by food, material goods, evaluations of the home and locality, networks of friends, participation in community activities and family leisure activities? What informs mothers’ aspirations and to what extent are ideas of what is necessary to live well as a family compatible with environmental sustainability? Shifting Visions builds on the ELiCiT project funded by DEFRA between 2011-2013, continuing longitudinal work with a subset of participants. It continues to ask questions about everyday family life and consumption but adds new questions around understandings of living well. 10 participants from the earlier research agreed to participate in Shifting Visions. They were each interviewed twice: in 2017/18 and 2021. All Interviews in 2021 were conducted online as a result of COVID.