As more than half of UK parents feel the pressure of the new school year, location-sharing technology offers a way to reduce the mental burden, reclaim time, and get more done.
Over 54% of UK parents admit they’ll be stressed when the new school year begins, and many agree that preparing children for the return to school in September is one of the most stressful periods of the year (52%).
These findings are part of new research released today by Life360, the family connection and safety company, which discovered that nearly half of parents are worried about how they’ll cope with the demanding term-time schedules when their children return to school this September. Furthermore, more than three-quarters of parents agree that tweens and teens are reluctant to think about returning to school until the very last minute (77%), adding to the mental load on parents.
Half of the parents surveyed acknowledged they struggle to get their children ready for the new school term after the summer break. Challenges include establishing a new routine after a more relaxed holiday schedule, planning and organising school transportation, coordinating extracurricular activities, adjusting bedtimes and wake-up times, motivating children to feel excited about the new term, shopping for school supplies, and re-establishing homework routines.
As parents busy themselves with making packed lunches and sewing name tags, ensuring the family’s technology is properly set up for the new term can offer peace of mind while giving children more independence. In fact, 40% of those surveyed have used location-sharing apps to help reduce family stress and manage busy schedules.
Luisa Zissman, podcaster and mother of three, including her teenage daughter Dixie, has teamed up with Life360 as parents look for ways to manage the demands of family life and reduce stress during the back-to-school season. She said: “Back-to-school season can be super stressful trying to co-ordinate the family’s busy schedule. It can be made even more difficult when my daughter is off doing her own thing and doesn’t answer calls or texts, or let me know what her plans are after school. But I’ve found that giving her the freedom she craves, while staying connected through Life360, really helps us both.”
When asked about the top things their children do that frustrate them as the back-to-school season approaches, parents cited ignoring calls and texts, failing to share updates on their whereabouts, not informing them of after-school plans, forgetting to charge phones, and coming home later than expected. The survey also found that parents send an average of five messages each week inquiring about their child’s whereabouts, with 59% sometimes being ignored, and another four weekly texts trying to find out when their child will be home.
As a busy working mother, Luisa understands the stress of managing a hectic household. She continued, “Knowing where she is without having to constantly chase her for updates has taken a lot of stress out of our routine and helped me better coordinate our family’s busy schedule. It’s comforting to know exactly when she’s on her way home or heading to a friend’s place. This peace of mind lets us navigate the back-to-school chaos with a lot less stress.”
With almost half of parents who use location-sharing technology with their children agreeing that it reduces their worry about what their children are up to (47%), the top reasons for using this technology are:
- To ensure my child is safe (61%)
- For peace of mind (56%)
- To quickly find my child if something goes wrong (47%)
- To reduce my anxiety by providing real-time updates on their location (45%)
- To keep an eye on where they go to avoid dangerous situations (35%)
- To build trust when I can see they are where they said they were going (28%)
- To ensure they are home on time (20%)
- To make it easier to plan transportation and avoid delays (19%)
- My child doesn’t usually respond to my messages about their whereabouts (16%)
- To ensure they are going to school regularly (13%)
David Rice, International General Manager at Life360, said: “The back-to-school season is stressful enough for both parents and kids without constantly chasing each other for updates on each other’s whereabouts. By ensuring the whole family is always in the loop, parents and kids can ease some of that anxiety and navigate the chaos with a bit more confidence.”
He added, “It’s no surprise that Life360 saw a 66% increase in UK registrations during the first week of September last year. With features like real-time location sharing, arrival and departure notifications, low battery alerts, location history, and SOS with emergency services dispatch, Life360 genuinely helps alleviate frustrations for parents as their kids return to school.”
