While millions of Americans are having a semi-normal summer as pandemic rules ease after a year of lockdowns, it seems parents are dreading their kids going back to school.
According to a non-scientific survey of 2,000 American parents, commissioned by Sittercity, 51% say they’re not prepared for the upcoming school year.
More than 70% said they’ve found the constant routine changes of the last year stressful, and only one in three say they’ve just gotten used to their routine in the new “new normal” — just as things are going to change again come September.
What’s more, 27% say they even forgot what their kids’ normal school routine was, according to the survey.
With COVID-19 still a lingering threat in their minds, more than a quarter of those polled say they don’t want their children taking the bus — and 70% of those say they’re willing to wake up a half hour earlier just to drive or walk their kids to school themselves.
That said, the pandemic has had some positive effects, the respondents noted: for example, 75% of parents say the past year-plus has made their kids more self-sufficient. Fifty-nine percent said their kids now get themselves dressed, and 58% say they’re cleaning up after themselves, while 49% say their kids are doing their homework without help and 47% are even getting to bed without being reminded.
That said, while 87% of parents believe their child has become more mature, 55% have caught their youngsters playing video games instead of doing schoolwork remotely.