夜市工作者的教養策略與親子關係

The Parenting Strategies and Parent-Child Relationship of Night Market Workers

臺灣夜市工作者的上班時間約在下午5點至晚上12點，與子女的作息幾乎完全錯開，不論照顧或陪伴子女都顯得困難。本研究透過參與觀察及深入訪談，探討夜市工作者的子女教養場域與實踐策略，以及所建構的親子關係。本研究以「帶（隨身教養）／不帶到夜市照顧（遠端教養）」為縱軸、「規劃安排／自由發展」的課業追求為橫軸，交叉產生四個象限的教養場域與實踐策略；同樣的縱軸但橫軸改以親子活動的「積極安排／低度參與」取代，交叉產生四個象限的親子關係類型。研究結果顯示，當夜市父母將家庭照顧行動帶入工作現場，照顧不再是單線地從父母到子女身上，陪伴與勞動之間也產生競爭關係；而親子關係的維繫不在於有沒有帶到夜市隨身照顧，親子互動的過程與品質更是關鍵。從子女的視角來看，父母的教養策略與子女的親子關係感受可能產生象限移轉，第一象限的教養策略（雙重期許但學習為主、幫忙為輔）會對應到第二象限的親子關係（童年失落）；第二象限的教養策略（家庭事業幫手）則可能對應第一象限（同心體諒）的親子關係。本研究除展現夜市家庭的多元樣貌外，亦顯示非標準工時工作者若能把握有限的時間提升親子互動品質，即有機會調和親子作息時間不一致所帶來的遺憾。

Night market workers in Taiwan typically operate from 5 PM to 12 AM, a schedule that significantly misaligns with their children’s routines, complicating both care provision and companionship. This study employs participant observation and in-depth interviews to examine the parenting domains, practical strategies, and resultant parent-child relationships of night market workers. We employ a framework with two axes: “on-site parenting (bringing children to the night market) / remote parenting” (vertical) and “structured / unstructured” approaches to academic pursuits (horizontal), generating four quadrants of parenting domains and strategies. A parallel framework, retaining the vertical axis but replacing the horizontal with “high / low engagement” in parent-child activities, yields four parent-child relationship types. Findings indicate that integrating family care into the workplace environment transforms care from a unidirectional to a bidirectional process and creates tension between companionship and labor. The quality of parent-child interactions, rather than physical presence at the night market, emerges as the critical factor in relationship maintenance. From the children’s perspective, parental strategies and perceived relationships may shift across quadrants: First-quadrant parenting strategies (dual expectations with learning as primary and helping as secondary) may correspond to second-quadrant parent-child relationships (lost childhood). Second-quadrant parenting strategies (family business helper) might correspond to first-quadrant (mutual understanding and empathy) parent-child relationships. This research not only illustrates the diverse dynamics of night market families but also suggests that optimizing limited interaction time can mitigate the challenges posed by misaligned schedules in non-standard working hour families.