Professional caring as mothering

This chapter provides a case study of one woman who works as a professional child carer in a capital city of Australia. It details the ways in which she cares professionally for young children and shows how connections have been made between this caring and the ways in which the carer was mothered, or cared for as a child. Cultural feminist perspectives are adopted to theorise the lived experiences of mothering and caring that are depicted. The case study provides insights into connections that existed between the carer's experiences of growing up in relationships with her mother and the caring philosophies that continued to mediate her professional caring practices with young children.