Between Socialisation and Burden: Children's and Caregivers' Perspectives on Child Supervision and Sibling Caregiving in Ghana

ABSTRACT Adequate child supervision is widely recognised as essential to children's well‐being, yet much of the evidence informing policy and practice derives from high‐income countries. In Sub‐Saharan Africa, particularly in Ghana, empirical research on child supervision remains limited despite the widespread use of collective caregiving arrangements, including sibling caregiving (the assumption of caregiving responsibilities for younger brothers or sisters) and other forms of non‐adult supervision—that is, situations in which children are left alone or placed in the care of other children rather than adults. The present study helps address this gap by examining how children and caregivers in Ghana perceive and experience child supervision and sibling caregiving within their everyday lives. Data were collected through eight focus group discussions with 76 caregivers and eight participatory workshops involving 64 children aged 6–10 years across four sites in northern and southern Ghana. Participating children had experience of providing care for younger siblings, being cared for by older siblings or both. The findings indicate that child supervision is embedded within broader systems of collective caregiving in which responsibility for children extends beyond parents to include siblings, extended family members and other community actors. Caregivers generally viewed sibling caregiving as an important socialisation practice through which children learn responsibility, cooperation and independence. However, while some children recognised the value of caregiving responsibilities, many described sibling caregiving as burdensome and associated with conflict, frustration or neglect. Drawing on a sociology of childhood perspective, the findings demonstrate how children's accounts challenge adult‐centred understandings of sibling caregiving and reveal dimensions of caregiving that may remain obscured when children's voices are excluded.