63% of mums breathe a sigh of relief and secretly look forward to ‘Back-to-School’ time

This week, thousands of mums across the country will drop their children off at the school gate after the long summer holidays. Today, MummyPages.ie, Ireland’s largest parenting community reveals some secret insights on how mums really feel about their children returning to school. Unsurprisingly, the majority (91%) of mums can’t wait for their children to return to school in order to get the whole family back into a school routine.

Here are the main insights from MummyPages’ research:
 63% of mums breathe a sigh of relief and secretly look forward to ‘Back-to-School’ time
 Mums look forward to the following aspects the most:
o 91% – Getting back into a routine
o 34% – Having some free time for themselves
o 17% – School is less expensive than the cost of summer activities
o 43% – It is exhausting trying to entertain children during the summer holidays
o 25% – Back-to-school limits the amount of screen time
o 25% – It gives mum time to organise and clean her house
o 30% – It makes it easier for mum to manage her work life, childcare and the household when children are at school
 76% of mums are acquainted with some of the other school-gate mums, 5% know all of them, while 19% find it difficult to make a connection with the other mums at school drop-off
 48% of mums think the school could do more to foster a sense of community within the school
 20% of mums feel judged by other mums for being a ‘SAHM’ or ‘Working Mum’ at drop-off / pick-up

Worryingly, one in five mums report feeling judged by other mums for being a ‘Stay-at-Home Mum’ or ‘Working Mum’ on the daily drop-off or pick-up at school. Feedback from our mum community highlights how difficult it can be for mums and especially for new mums to make friends with other mums. MummyPages calls for mums to support and reach out to other mums at the school gate this September, instead of slipping into the mum stereotypes judging others that we hear about so often.

According to Laura Haugh, Mum-in-Residence for MummyPages.ie, Ireland’s largest online parenting community:

“It comes as no surprise that 63% at mums breathe a sigh of relief and secretly look forward to ‘Back-to-School’ time. As much as mums enjoy spending time with their children during the summer months when it comes to the end of August lots of mums are only too happy to drop their children at the school gate.”

“After an exhausting summer, both mum and her purse need a break. Back-to-School time allows mums to get the whole family back into a routine. It gives mum time to start organising her house after a chaotic summer. Apart from that it allows mum to focus time on herself whether it’s meeting up with friends or doing an exercise class. Back-to School effectively means more time for mums and for working mums it can help to make meeting the daily demands of a career and motherhood a little more manageable.”