Transnational mothering and the complexities of childhood among migrant Filipina domestic workers

Left-behind children (LBCs) occupy an ambivalent role in the migration projects of Filipino transnational families. They are considered the primary motivation for their mother’s departure, yet their views are often held secondary or sometimes ignored by adults. In this paper, we examine relations of Filipina domestic workers (FDWs) and their left-behind children in the Cordillera Mountains, northern Philippines. We use transcripts, notes, and social media posts from two periods: in 2017 involving LBCs of FDWs working in Kuala Lumpur, Cyprus, and Hong Kong; and in 2021 involving LBCs and FDWs in Singapore. We sum up our findings about transnational mothering by offering two conceptual handles, namely: infantile mobilism and mobilised infantilism. By infantile mobilism, we refer to the emphasis on the salvific motives of emigration as a source of legitimation. In contrast, we refer to mobilised infantilism as a case of tapping into the energies and trainability of LBCs to facilitate gendered mobilities and to fill the gaps caused by transnational migration. In the end, we reflect on the implications of the two concepts for childhood as a category .