Abstract

Using an intercultural perspective, this study explores the meanings of childhood in the rural peasant population, as well as the implications of these meanings on the allocation of tasks and providing care to boys and girls. Taking into account the tension between universal meanings of childhood that draw on rights-based perspectives and the traditional practice of children working in agriculture, we conducted a qualitative study using a grounded theory methodology. Interviews were conducted with women caregivers and staff who work in rural development programs in Chile. The study’s results show that as childhood has had an increasing value with children becoming more and more recognized as social actors, traditional child work practices in agriculture have decreased and care practices have been strengthened. The author concludes that the results of the research have consequences when thinking about an ontology for rural children.