Latest news with #ModernFamilyIndex
Forbes
06-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
5 Survival Tips For Working Moms With Kids Home This Summer
You're on a critical Zoom call when your eight-year-old bursts through the door asking for the third snack in an hour, while your toddler decides this is the perfect moment to have a meltdown. Meanwhile, your inbox is overflowing, deadlines are looming and you're mentally calculating how much food is left in the fridge. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. This is the reality for working moms everywhere during summer break. Parental obligations become even more intense when school's out, with research showing that working moms spend nearly nine additional hours per week on childcare during summer. In addition, 76% of working parents report that their children's summer schedules directly impact their ability to focus at work, according to new research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), commissioned by Bright Horizons. That's why a strategic approach is necessary to help working moms maintain their sanity and sense of humor during the chaos of summer. By implementing these approaches, you'll transform from a frazzled working mother into a highly productive individual. Release yourself from the perfectionist trap and set realistic expectations: Creating some semblance of routine can be a lifesaver for working moms, but build in flexibility from the start: The holy grail of summer survival for working moms is finding activities that keep children happily occupied without constant parental involvement. These "time givers" should be deployed strategically during your most important work periods: One of the biggest mistakes working moms make is trying to handle summer by themselves. Attempting to do everything alone kills productivity, while accepting help actually makes you more effective: Working moms running on empty can't maintain productivity or effectively support their families: Remember that working moms everywhere face these same challenges. According to the Bright Horizons research, 87% of working parents experience disruptions while their children are home during summer. Your struggles are understandable, your feelings are valid and your efforts are more than enough. Most importantly, the memories you're creating will matter more than the work emails that went unanswered or the meetings that were interrupted. You've got this.
Business Wire
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
New Research Reveals Summer is a Break for Everyone but Parents
NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For many parents, summer is anything but a vacation. According to new research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), commissioned by Bright Horizons (NYSE:BFAM) and conducted by The Harris Poll, 68% of parents agree that sometimes summer feels like a break for everyone but themselves—and this is particularly challenging for working parents— with 76% saying the level of focus they have at work during the summer is directly tied to the reliability of their children's summer schedules. 68% of parents agree that sometimes summer feels like a break for everyone but themselves—and this is particularly challenging for working parents. Share As working parents try to juggle professional responsibilities with increased family demands, their level of focus and productivity tends to suffer during the summer months, with 87% reporting that they experience challenges or disruptions while their children are home in the summer. The survey results found: One in three said they need to step away at points during the day to check on/take care of their kids or have to leave work early more often to pick them up from activities. One in three reported worrying about what their children are doing at home while they are working and were distracted from work thinking about their children's schedules. More than one in three said available activities/care not lining up with their work schedule is a challenge when arranging their children's schedules during the summer. Support For Working Parents To alleviate the burden and provide more peace of mind, many working parents are looking to their employers for additional support. More than three-quarters of working parents (76%) say they wish their employer offered more supports to help them arrange a reliable summer schedule for their children. 'Today's working parents aren't afraid to speak up and ask for what they need,' commented Stephen Kramer, CEO of Bright Horizons. 'When employers offer meaningful supports that help working parents—whether by providing access to childcare, back-up care, camp resources, or other benefits—they're not only relieving pressure on parents, but are fostering a more engaged, loyal, and productive workforce.' About the Bright Horizons Modern Family Index Over the past decade, Bright Horizons has tracked trends impacting working families through its annual Modern Family Index (MFI), highlighting the unique challenges and priorities they've faced. In 2025, the report has been refreshed and will encompass several waves of survey data focused on timely topics to be released throughout the year. To download Wave Two of the 2025 Bright Horizons Modern Family Index, click here. Research Method The research was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll between April 24-28, 2025, among 2,083 adults ages 18 and older – among whom 634 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 18 years of age ('parents') and 500 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 18 years of age who are employed full or part-time. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, marital status, size of household, and political party affiliation to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents are selected among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. The sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. Bright Horizons ® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and childcare, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 35 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates more than 1,000 early education and childcare centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India, and serves more than 1,450 of the world's leading employers. Bright Horizons' early education and childcare centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. For more information, go to
