This article studies the international migration of women as a breakdown situation in the lifecourse of their children who stay in their country of origin. It is based on data collected by the authors in El Alto, Bolivia, on a sample of children. The analysis focuses on the changes in family structures after the departure of the mother, and on the role of the extended family, particularly female members of the family, in these changes. The matricentral model based on support arrangements within the family and on the notion of transnational parenthood/motherhood emerges in this context as a strategy for caring and protecting children.