Children Do Care: Novel Findings from Colombia and Mexico

In Latin America, where social protection systems are weak and early childhood education services have limited coverage, the burden of care often falls heavily on families. This situation not only impacts women's labor trajectories but also affects children who take on caregiving roles, an understudied phenomenon with potential long-term consequences. This study examines the caregiving dynamics of children aged 12 to 18 in Colombia and Mexico, using recent time-use surveys to analyze their contribution to unpaid family care and its potential consequences. Our methodology involves comparative analysis of time-use data from Colombia (2016) and Mexico (2019), focusing on children's participation in care activities, the types of care provided, and the time allocated to these tasks. We employ econometric models to investigate the determinants of care provision and its effects on children's educational and personal development outcomes. Our results reveal that children aged 12 to 18 bear a significant portion of the care burden in both countries, with participation rates of 6.6% in Colombia and 18.8% in Mexico. Gender imbalances are pronounced, with girls taking on more intensive care tasks. The provision of care is associated with lower school attendance, reduced study time, and decreased leisure activities. These findings highlight the need for public policies that address the defamiliarization of care in Latin America to mitigate the potential long-term impacts on children's life trajectories. Based on these results, we discuss the implications for public policies aimed at alleviating the care burden on children and adolescents. The study contributes to the debate on how to balance young people's involvement in care tasks with their educational and personal development, considering the context of the countries studied and the challenges in breaking cycles of intergenerational inequality.