New Survey Reveals Top Reasons Parents Experience Burnout During the School Year

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For many parents and caregivers, the school year can be a stressful time. According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The Kids Mental Health Foundation, 40% of parents say their stress or mental load is higher during the school year compared to summer months.

The survey of more than 1,000 parents across the United States also reveals six out of 10 parents with increased stress or mental load during the school year say managing school schedules and routines are a major contributor (63%). Parents dealing with increased mental load note other top sources of stress include difficulty balancing work with parenting responsibilities (49%) and helping with homework or aiding with academic struggles (44%).

Nearly half the moms surveyed (46%) say they are more likely than dads (32%) to feel increased stress during the school year. In addition, among parents dealing with increased stress or mental load during the school year, moms (36%) are more likely to be concerned about their child’s mental health at school compared to dads (26%). School safety and bullying are also concerns for moms (36%) and dads (20%).

“As a mom and a pediatric psychologist, I understand that the school season can be both an exciting and stressful time for parents and children,” said Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall, associate clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and a pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Given how common it is for parents to feel stressed, it’s important we talk more about parental stress and reduce the guilt parents feel. We created evidence-based resources to help parents navigate their stress, because parents and caregivers play a critical part in their children’s mental health and managing our stress helps our well-being and our child’s well-being too!”

The Kids Mental Health Foundation offers free, evidence-based resources to help parents navigate stress, including 5 Steps to Help with Parental Stress, Grown-Up Self-Care, Prioritizing Self-Care, and more.

For more information and free kids’ mental health resources, please visit KidsMentalHealthFoundation.org.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Ipsos on the KnowledgePanel® from July 11 to July 14, 2025, and surveyed 1,015 U.S. parents with a child under age 18. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level for results based on the entire sample of parents. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect of 1.11.

The Kids Mental Health Foundation is the leading organization promoting mental health for children in the United States. To achieve its vision to build a world where mental health is a vital part of every child’s upbringing, nearly 1,000 mental health professionals and researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in partnership with other trusted experts, provide real-world knowledge and expertise to power the Foundation's free educational videos, guides and curriculum. To date, more than 24 million people have engaged with the Foundation’s materials, helping parents, educators and coaches be a guiding force for children all across the United States.