Over the past 18 months, parents have been faced with new challenges. During lockdowns and school closures, many were tasked with balancing their personal needs with home-schooling, employment changes and caring for loved ones.
In a recent global study conducted by Kantar, we found parents experienced many challenges during the pandemic, but some real positives as well.
Parents are feeling more confident in their parenting abilities now vs pre-lockdown
For many parents globally, they feel more confident in their parenting skills now than before lockdowns. 61% report to feel much or somewhat more confident.
Confidence decreases for those with younger children, however. For parents with children aged 0-4, 68% feel more confident whilst only 50% of parents with young adult children (18-22) feel more confident.
Parents feel supported by their families, governments, and employers
Globally, the parents interviewed have felt very supported by their families (91%) over the past 18 months.
70% have felt supported by government and the educational resources made available to them. Similarly, 69% also feel supported by their employer.
However, for those who felt unsupported, the sentiment was felt most strongly towards the government and educational resources. Of those interviewed, 25% report feeling unsupported.
Parents found home-schooling had a positive impact on their well-being
Half of all parents interviewed report that spending more quality time with their family has been the most positive outcome of home-schooling.
Enjoyment from learning or remembering things parents hadn’t learnt about in years (i.e. history, science, math) were second or third ranked as positives from home-schooling, in India (where 54% of respondents said it had been a positive outcome), Brazil (48%), China (32%), UK (27%), Germany (26%) and France (25%).
Other appreciations globally included easier morning routines, learning new things about their parenting abilities, and overall happiness with children home more.
When asked if there were any lifestyle changes created during the pandemic that parents wanted to see continued, 87% said ‘yes’. Six out of 10 (61%) want to see more quality family time.
Get more answers
For more findings from this study, access the complete Community Report: Connecting with Parents and Caregivers. Find additional country specific answers on family leave and day care, the impact of home-schooling on employment, parenting young adults, the impact on caregivers, and more.
About this study
This research was conducted online among 5,865 people across eight global markets: US, UK, France, Germany, India, Singapore, China and Brazil.
Respondents were sourced from the Kantar Profiles Network. All interviews were conducted as online self-completion between 22 July and 9 August 2021.
