I took my older daughter with me on a fieldwork trip to Ghana. As you can see below, it was a great adventure, and she experienced some amazing new things.

It was a great experience for me too, and now that I’ve been back in Germany for a bit I’ve reflected on a few things about doing research with kids.

• First, should you take your kid(s) with you on fieldwork? My own experience leads me to say ‘Yes!’ assuming the conditions are safe and the resources are available to meet your kid(s) needs. In Accra it was relatively easy to secure safe and comfortable housing, find a convenient preschool, organize a truck and driver, and there were plenty of grocery stores with food that she is used to. I’m also lucky to work at an institute that has the financial resources and willingness to cover these costs, which makes it infinitely easier to navigate bringing my child with me on fieldwork trips. Working in rural areas, and/or not having the financial support I get from my employer, would certainly make it more complex and challenging. Basically, consider the conditions, and if they are manageable definitely consider bringing your child along.
• If you can bring them along, something I found especially interesting was the way that a three-year-old’s observations and questions bring a lot of things that exist in the background of fieldwork sites to the foreground. I’ve been working in urban settings in Africa and Southeast Asia combined for over ten years now. There are many disturbing or sad things that are part of everyday life in cities like Accra that just become background features over time. You still see them, but you compartmentalize them if they’re not related to your work. However, a three-year-old is going to actively ask why there are children near her age hawking things at traffic intersections. Why aren’t they in school, are they poor, do they have parents? Answering these questions in a way a three-year-old understands doesn’t leave space for abstraction, and the rigor of concretely talking about why many of the unfair and sad things we saw exist forced me to be far more observant during my time in Ghana.
• The gender dimension regarding my experience is critical. I have gotten accolades from colleagues for taking my daughter along with me, single-parenting her the whole time we were in Ghana, and managing to keep her safe and happy while still getting my work done. While I think I did a good job, it’s not unfair to say that a lot of the accolades I have received would not be showered on a woman in the same situation. I know many female colleagues from my PhD cohort, post-doctoral experience, and in my current job, who have taken children on fieldwork trips because it was the only way they could have kids and do their research. Many did it in harder environmental conditions with far less financial support than me. While I appreciate the accolades, please:
  • If you’re an institutional leader, provide staff with healthy overnight rates and per diems, as well as reimbursement for childcare costs during travel. Pay as much of this up front as possible, too. The majority of parents who take kids on fieldwork trips are still women, and making it less of a financial and logistical burden would help in closing the production gaps between male and female scientists.
  • If you’re a man, take your kids with you. Take the initiative. Say to your wife/partner, who probably also has a job and finds being a parent tiring, ‘I would like to take the kid(s) with me to [Insert country], and I hope while we’re away you can have some quiet/pleasant time to recharge.’ It will make the fieldwork experience different and engaging in new ways, and will increase your empathy for colleagues who don’t get to choose how and when they balance work versus parenting.

Certainly the trip was a challenge, and as it was my first time doing this there was some stress with planning. It was a great experience though, and I’m happy to chat with anyone who is considering taking a child with them on fieldwork about what to expect or plan for!