I . INTRODUCTION
1.1 . Background
Many working parents are separated from their children and are only able to visit home once a year . This results in a significant strain on parent -‐ child relationships , parents ' well -‐ being and children ’ s development . Numerous studies have shown that the trauma of being left -‐ behind by parents weighs heavily on children , affecting everything from their communication skills to school performance to mental health to outlook on life 1 . Similarly , separation affects the parents too . Between May 2014 and March 2016 , CCR CSR conducted 30 in -‐ factory trainings aimed towards parents with left -‐ behind children . According to the pre -‐ training survey , only 19 % of workers thought of themselves as adequate parents and one in three found it difficult to communicate with their child / children . When parent workers receive no support from their employers , these feelings of inadequacy can play out in their attitudes towards work , effecting their morale , loyalty to the factory and productivity 2 .
The tendency to leave children behind is still prevalent in China today . Many of these children are looked after by their aging grandparents in faraway towns and villages , with few or no opportunities to visit their parents at their place of work . However , while there is a growing trend of parents bringing their children with them when they migrate for work , many struggle to find suitable childcare solutions , especially during the long summer break . As a result , an unknown number of children roam around workshop floors and factories during the summer months , as witnessed by CCR CSR first -‐ hand during an unrelated supply chain assessment .
1 Survey on left -‐ behind children by China Youth and Children Research Center :
http :// www . jyb . cn / china / gnxw / 201502 / t20150215 _ 613519 . html ; " White Paper on Left -‐ behind Children ' s Psychological Wellbeing " by Shangxue Lushang : http :// ccrcsr . com / news / new -‐ white -‐ paper -‐ draws -‐ attention -‐ left -‐ behind -‐ children ’ s -‐ psychological -‐ well -‐ being 2 " They Are Also Parents : A Study on Migrant Workers with Left -‐ behind Children in China ", CCR CSR ,
2013
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