Today, Parentkind publishes the latest National Parent Survey – Britain’s largest annual parent poll.
Parents skipping meals or rationing heating so their children have basics
Almost 1 in 5 parents say harder to get their child to school since pandemic
One in seven parents say their child spends 7 hours or more a day in front of screens – more time than they do in school
More than half of working parents now Work From Home (WFH)
The most extensive report into the experiences of parents in the UK today is based on polling by YouGov of 5500 parents and highlights the key challenges they face.
The report acts as a voice for parents and reflects their calls for urgent interventions to help with financial pressures; including some of the costs of sending children to school, the pricing of school holiday travel and measures to curb the negative impact of social media on children.
The National Parent Survey contains several recommendations from Parentkind aimed at easing the burden on parents and is packed with top lines that will influence and spark debate.
Jason Elsom, CEO, Parentkind said: “Being a parent in 2024 is tough and parents are only just managing, that’s the message from this year’s National Parent Survey, Britain’s largest annual parent poll. Parents are crying out for help but are too often overlooked when decisions are made. Just four in ten think that being a parent is valued by society and one in five parents tell us they are miserable most of the time.
Many parents are struggling to make ends meet and get children away from their screens, it is no wonder they are tempted by a term-time holiday. Poverty haunts Britain’s parents with 3.7 million facing the prospect of not paying the bills this month, plus a third of parents have less than £500 in the bank.”
This year’s National Parent Survey is the largest yet and shows that much more needs to be done to support parents. We’re calling for a big commitment from ministers to listen to what parents are saying when it comes to making family life cheaper, clamping down on rip-off holiday costs and banning smartphones for children.”
From what parents tell us, major areas of concern include:
Costs of Parenting
- 1 in 3 (34%) parents say they are struggling financially – with the costs of uniforms and school trips being of particular concern to many parents. School trips are one of the most expensive costs associated with their child’s school and almost half of parents are particularly concerned about the cost of school uniforms (47% – Parents with a child entitled to Free School Meals 58%) and school trips (43% – FSM 51%)
- 4 in 10 (40%) parents of children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) parents have skipped meals to pay bills in the last 12 months
- 1 in 3 (35%) of parents have rationed their heating over the last 12 months
- 1 in 5 (21%) of parents struggle to afford the costs of sending children to school (FSM 47%)
- More than one in five (22%) parents go into debt every month (FSM 41%)
- More than a third of parents (37%) have less than £500 in the bank for a rainy day (FSM 58%)
- 1 in 4 (26%) parents say they are worried about falling behind on rent or mortgage payments (FSM 44%)
- 1 in 5 (22%) parents of children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) have used food banks
Attendance
- While around three-quarters (76%) of parents say every school day matters almost 1 in 5 (18%) parents say it is harder to get their child to school since the pandemic
- More than half (57%) of parents say they have or would consider their child missing school for a day or more for a holiday
- The costs of holidays are a major factor in considering missing school
- Three in ten parents (31%) are ‘more relaxed’ about school attendance since the pandemic.
- Majority of parents (57%) say fines for term-time holidays have no impact on whether they take their child out of school for a holiday.
- More parents (50%) oppose fines for non-attendance than support (44%)
Screen Time and Mental Health
- One in seven (14%) of parents say their child spends 7 hours or more on electronic devices per day which is longer than the typical school day.
- Parents say their child spends an average of 3 hours 20 minutes on electronic devices outside school in a typical weekday
- Nearly half (47%) of parents say they have had a disagreement with their child over screen time in the last few weeks
- 6 in 10 (64%) parents say their teen spend 3+ hours a day – equivalent to at least a month a year – on their phone, tablet or playing computer games
- Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) parents of primary school age children say their child spends at least 3 hours a day on a device
- More than 1 in 10 (11%) parents of primary school age children say their child spends more than 7 hours a day on their phone, tablet or playing computer games, longer than they’d typically be at school
- Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) parents say their child is missing family time as a result of their time spent on devices
- 1 in 4 (25%) of parents say their child has experienced a mental health challenge* in the past 12 months (FSM 40%) [*depression, bullying, sexual harassment, self-harm or eating disorders]
- 2 in 5 (39%) children who experienced a mental health challenge* in the last 12 months missed school as a result (FSM 43%) [*depression, bullying, sexual harassment, self-harm or eating disorders]
Work and Family balance
- Half of working parents (52%) working now regularly work from home
- More than a third (36%) of working parents have reduced their hours to look after their children
- 86% of parents working from home say it makes it easier to balance work with parenting
- 1 in 8 (13%) parents have had a flexible working request refused (FSM parents 1 in 4 (24%)
- More than 1 in 3 (36%) part-time working mums have seen a negative impact on their future career prospects as a result of working part-time compared with 1 in 5 (18%) of part-time working dads.
- Parents of children entitled to Free School Meals are working fewer hours than they would like (FSM 25% vs Not FSM 10%). They are also more likely to experience work-related challenges such as unpredictability of working days/ hours (FSM 26% vs not 21%), uncertainty of income (FSM 32% vs not 22%).
Parent Quotes
Amelia Beeston, Administrator, 38, London.
Amelia is married and has two young children.
“For us and the other parents we know, the cost of living is a big issue, even if two people are earning in the household. We were aware that having children would require extra costs but there are many things we need to purchase that seem excessive. This means not much money left to enjoy family time together which is so very important
“Childcare costs are extortionate, so we decided to keep costs down by only using the allocated funded hours to send our child to nursery very part-time and not using wrap-around care for our school-aged child, meaning we are constantly needing to juggle our home-working hours between us to look after our nursery aged child and for drop-offs & pick-ups. It is so dependent on the workplace being flexible and many parents do not have this luxury. They are required to spend even more money on childcare and wraparound care to cover working and commuting hours.”
Tania McEwing-Winman, 36, Ross-On-Wye. Tania is a mental health nurse in the NHS with two children.
“My family struggles to balance the cost of living with careers – we both work full time, and nursery costs are more than our bills; we need additional care because most nurseries and after-school clubs in the area are only open until five. So, although we manage, it seems we work for childcare, so we either continue working or stop, and one of us loses our career. Six years ago, this wasn’t an issue.”
Parentkind is making key recommendations including:
- The Government should commit to including the cost of school in any new strategy for reducing poverty.
- A call for the Government to review the marketing and pricing of ‘rip-off’ family holidays.
- Ministers should publish the evidence on smartphone harm and introduce a Bill to ban smartphones for kids.
- Funding for every child to take part in after-school clubs
- More PTAs to help raise money for enrichment, school trips and second-hand uniforms
Link to National Parent Survey
https://nationalparentsurvey.parentkind.org
Link to National Parent Survey Media Briefing
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 5490 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 26th April – 16th May 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of UK parents (aged 18+).
