Back-to-School Season Stress Has Parents Spending Over Two Workdays Coordinating Schedules
The average parent says their family spends 17 hours per week managing family schedules and other back-to-school stressors driving 60% of parents to tears
Back-to-school season is always an exciting time of year, full of fresh starts, new school supplies, and the promise of learning. But as we return to classrooms, there comes a whirlwind of activity – and stress – for both kids and parents alike. While students are busy balancing homework and extracurricular activities, parents are feeling the pressure too. From coordinating schedules and managing commutes to adjusting to new school routines as a whole, the demands are high. But the main back-to-school burden for parents isn’t just scheduling stress, it’s the hidden costs that can pile up, making this busy season both financially and emotionally draining for parents everywhere.
We conducted a survey of 1,000 parents of children in the U.S between the ages of 5 and 14 to uncover the significant time, financial, and emotional challenges families are facing during back-to-school season. Not only did the majority of parents report back to school being the most stressful time of year, but the overall cost of coordinating all things back-to-school proved to be the tip of the iceberg – and not just due to the build-up of buying school supplies or brand new clothes.
The Time Commitment
From early drop-offs to after-school activities, there’s no shortage of scheduling strain during back-to-school season. Parents estimate they spend an average of 17 hours per week coordinating family schedules and activities, which equates to over two full workdays and a lot of lost time and productivity – almost $31K in lost hours per year*. Survey results show that 87% of parents find family schedule coordination challenging in at least one major way. In fact, the majority of parents report four main scheduling challenges this time of year:
According to the survey, 68% of parents feel burdened by the sheer number of tasks they need to complete each day. All this pressure pushes 76% of parents to double down and check in on their children’s schedules multiple times a day to ensure everyone is on the same page. Even simple routines, like waiting in line for school pick-up, which averages 16 minutes a day, become significant stressors. In fact, parents have expressed so much frustration with these delays that they would be willing to pay an average of $207 to completely avoid them for a whole week.
The True Cost
In addition to all the lost time and overall hours spent juggling schedules, parents predict they will spend an average of $458 per child on basic back-to-school needs. But that’s not all – the typical parent estimates their children will each lose around $175 worth of goods per year, from backpacks and pencil pouches to calculators and textbooks. While the lost-and-found bin can sometimes save a few important items, most of these necessities will never be seen again. Whether it’s buying new school supplies or replacing the lost ones, the ultimate cost of everything needed is the #1 cause of back-to-school stress for 51% of parents. Ensuring that school requirements are met follows closely as a second-place stressor, affecting 49% of parents, while safety and security concerns come in third at 46%.
Parents Are Under Pressure
From complicated costs to coordinating schedules and more, the back-to-school season puts significant pressure on parents. In fact, back-to-school preparation is ranked by parents as the highest-stress preparation time of the year: 44% rate their back-to-school stress level this year as high, and 29% rate it as more stressful than holidays, birthdays, standardized testing, and even sports and performance prep.
The struggle of all this stress is real, with 60% of parents being reduced to tears due to the pressure of back-to-school preparation, and 16% admitting they end up crying every year. With such high levels of stress, it’s no surprise that a 53% majority of parents consider back-to-school needs a top priority, with 89% thinking and actively planning for the school year starting as early as the spring.
How Technology Can Help
With all this time, money and stress piling up, parents are clearly in need of tools to help ease the anxiety and pressure of the back-to-school season. Survey data shows that a majority of parents are already using mobile apps to help manage planning and organization, with 66% saying they don’t know how they could manage all of their kids’ activities and scheduling without these types of tech tools. But it’s not just routine tasks, when unexpected changes arise, 51% of parents plan to use technology to stay updated and prepared to handle last-minute changes or emergencies during the school year. The most common tech tool for tackling this school-related scheduling? Location tracking technology. Apps like Life360 top the list of tools parents will deploy to solve various back-to-school challenges, with 28% already using this tech, and 51% likely to adopt it soon. Plus, incorporating additional tech tools like Tile, a Bluetooth tracking device, can also help parents keep track of those important – and often misplaced – items like backpacks, laptops and more, reducing the risk of lost items and ensuring that everything is in its place during those hectic school mornings.
“Back-to-school season can be a real challenge for parents. Balancing new schedules, calming kids’ back-to-school jitters, and managing work can be overwhelming,” said Erika Katz, parenting expert and author of Coach Parenting. “To ease the stress of managing everyone’s schedules, using an app like Life360 makes all the difference. You know your kids are where they should be, you are reassured that you will be alerted should an emergency come up, and if that soccer game gets moved to a different location, it can be quickly updated in the app. While back-to-school time is naturally hectic, technology like Life360 is a game changer making coordinating everyone’s schedule that much easier.”
Back-to-school season is undeniably stressful, expensive and unpredictable, but with the help of technology tools like Life360, parents can manage their schedules more effectively, reduce their stress levels, and focus on what really matters – supporting their children’s education and well-being.