Contexts of Collaboration in Caregiving: Infant Interactions with Israeli Kibbutz Mothers and Caregivers

This report directly compares caregiving activities of mothers and nonfamilial care‐givers in the context of the Israeli kibbutz, where responsibilities for chiidrearing are typically shared according to formalized kibbutz social norms. For comparison, the study also included full‐time homemaker mothers from typical, urban nuclear families in Israel. The frequency and sequence of common caregiving activities showed similarities and differences among mothers and caregivers, as did patterns of associations among mother and caregiver behaviors and patterns of interactions between mothers and infants as well as between caregivers and infants. Infants themselves differed in exploration and vocalization with different caregivers. Caregiving activities, interactions, and developmental processes provided by kibbutz mothers and professional nonfamilial caregivers are discussed in terms of a “division of caregiving responsibilities,” and they are compared with caregiving provided by homemaker mothers.