Sittercity teamed up with OnePoll to get a pulse on what’s actually happening with families this year. With many parents working from home and attempting to help with remote learning simultaneously, this survey of 2,000 American parents of school-aged children has a by-the-numbers approach to assessing both the challenges and the opportunities unique to this school year.
While there are certainly some difficult situations for all, there are also some positive experiences coming out of these work/school co-habitations. Here are the results.
Pros & Cons, By-the-Numbers
- The average American kid has crashed 25 of their parents’ work meetings each week since the beginning of the school year.
- Results showed kids come stumbling into digital boardrooms, client calls and other work videos or calls as many as 5 times a day.
- But parents are also far from perfect as the challenges of families living, working, and studying shoulder-to-shoulder become increasingly apparent.
- In fact, the average parent has disturbed their child’s lesson an average of 6 times since the beginning of the school year.
- 6 wifi resets per week, and 4 “in-class” snack requests per day are now the norm for families with members who are both working and schooling from home.
Despite some disruptions, there are positives that have come about due to these work from home mandates:
- “Pajama day,” happens an average of 5 times during each week among those families who are both working and schooling from home.
- Families whose children are learning remotely are now eating an average of 6 more meals together each week as a result of the situation –and 91% of these parents say they hope the extra quality time continues.
Child Care and Remote Schooling
The survey also looked at families’ child care plans in the event that remote schooling should continue for the rest of the year. The average parent says their child’s school has already cycled through four different plans for the school year, making planning for childcare a difficult if not impossible task.
- It’s no surprise, then, that more than 1/2 of those whose child is schooling from home say that virtual schooling has sent their family into a childcare crisis.
- 69% of parents say they would usually rely on an older relative for help, but no longer feel comfortable doing so.
- Among those whose child is schooling from home part-time or full-time this semester, 26% say they’ve yet to solidify their childcare plans for the school year.
- And while 47% of the same group say their spouse is home and can cover childcare, and 30% are receiving help from a friend or relative, 24% have hired a part-time or full-time babysitter.
The daily interruptions and the constant switching of hats is adding up for parents. Parents are overwhelmed and on the verge of burnout, and the data from this survey shows why. We’re seeing families come to our platform everyday looking for support, flexibility and a bit of control in the face of so much ongoing uncertainty. –Elizabeth Harz, CEO of Sittercity
Child Care and WFH
The study also revealed other impacts of the unconventional school year on parents’ work lives.
- 64% of those whose kids have gone back to in-person schooling agree that now that their child has returned to school full-time, they’re bummed that the extended family time together, at the end of the last school year and over the summer, has come to an end.
- And 58% of the same group of respondents say they miss having their work-from-home “co-worker” around.
The opportunity to have so much additional time with our families is bittersweet. As parents, we’re cherishing the extra moments together but also know we can’t keep up the pace. Our new ‘co-workers’ need more support and engagement than we can provide. Having a team of child care professionals to call on can help make the extra time more enjoyable and less of a juggling act. –Elizabeth Harz, CEO of Sittercity
