Stress – New School Year & Parents
Are you a parent and have school-aged kids? Do you experience stress when they go to school? A back-to-school shopping study revealed that parents experience increased stress levels when their kids are about to enter the classroom again. The study involved 2,208 US adults and was undertaken between July 20 and 24, 2012.
Up to 50% of the participants in the study stated that they get stressed with the idea of shopping for their kid’s things for school as well as packing their lunches. The study also revealed that up to 83% of the moms look for shopping bargains for school supplies while up to 73% get stressed by looking for sales coupons for groceries.
According to Jeanette Pavini, a household savings expert, back to school time causes increased stress levels in the home because of the financial implications of children going back to school. Also, the time and effort spent in preparing kids for school also increases the feeling of burn-out for parents, especially moms.
Sources of Parent’s Stress during the School Year
Moms particularly mentioned the things that they need to prepare for their kid’s school such as:
- New clothes
At the start of the school year, moms always buy their kids new sets of clothes or uniforms. Most often, these clothes are expensive and definitely put a strain on their wallets.
- School supplies
Kids also need new school supplies and these do not just consist of new pencils or notebooks, but other things as well that children love to include in their bags.
- Groceries for snacks and lunches
Moms also need to regularly stock up on food in the house because children need their snacks and lunch at school. The school year actually doubles the expenses on groceries because of these.
Aside from these purchases, moms also feel stressed due to other things that are normal during school time such as:
- Having to let children sleep earlier
Parents need to make an extra effort encouraging their kids to sleep earlier. Also, parents need to employ proper time management and be able to finish their tasks earlier and so they can sleep and wake up early to prepare their kids for school.
- Having children wake up earlier
This may be a burden on some parents because some children are really hard to wake up.
- Prepare their breakfast and lunch
Preparing their kid’s breakfast takes extra time and planning. Many parents prepare their kid’s lunch for school as well.
- Taking kids to and from school
It is an advantage if kids have their own school bus, but for families where parents have to take their children to school and collect them later, this is additional time and effort that they need to allow for each day.
The Reality
Children usually get sad when they know that the next school year is approaching because they won’t get to enjoy their days playing and going on out of town excursions with their family. However, children should also notice that they are not the only ones who get stressed with the thought that it’s time for school again, but their parents do as well.
Children may also be excited by the thought of having to go to the department store for their new school supplies and some even make a list of what they are going to ask their parents to buy for them. However, as much as children get excited by this, moms also get stressed because of the financial burden that they may experience.
School is really a source of stress for both parents and their children, but it’s also the place that children are educated and prepared for their future lives. Parents should make sure that they are able to deal with school time effectively so that they can support their children all semester and reduce their own parental burn-out.
Posted by Paula Wein
Barnes and Noble Discount Coupons
