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NEW YORK — Will today’s children grow up to fulfill their biggest dreams? Many people have their doubts — including their parents! Almost two-thirds of parents (64%) are concerned that their child isn’t reaching their full potential.
A survey of 2,000 parents of school-aged children revealed that another 42% are more stressed than ever before about their child’s academic success. From concerns about safety (37%) to their emotional well-being (37%), social development (28%), and behavioral issues (23%), it’s no secret that many factors play a role in children’s success both academically and in life.
According to the results, a staggering 85% of parents notice something that concerns them about their child on a monthly basis, with 20% saying that it’s a daily occurrence. This was especially true for parents of elementary school children, as 28% notice something concerning every day.
As a first step, many parents (45%) spoke to their child about the issue they noticed, others spoke to their child’s teacher (20%), and some tried to solve the problem on their own (10%). Overall, two-thirds (66%) are concerned about their child’s growth and development. These concerns were prompted by their child’s slumping grades (28%), developing an odd behavior or habit (28%), a strange comment from their child (22%), or feedback from their child’s teacher (20%).
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Presence, the results found that almost all of today’s parents (92%) are willing to go to “any lengths necessary” to ensure that their child excels in school. Even so, 52% are concerned about what their child’s peers will think of them and 72% of those respondents admit that other people’s opinions have an impact on their willingness to get their child assessed for a learning disability.
However, as their child gets older, the impact of other people’s opinions diminishes. Almost four in five parents of preschool or kindergarteners (79%) are influenced by how others perceive their child, compared to 75% of middle school parents and only 69% of high school parents.
Despite their hesitations, an astounding 91% of all parents polled are confident that they know how to advocate for support in identifying services that their child may need. Another 88% of parents have no qualms about bringing in a third party outside of the school system to support their child.
“It’s especially compelling to see that 79% of parents feel they know the right questions to ask if they’re told to ‘watch and wait’ by a teacher, counselor, or clinician. But that still leaves 21% who feel unprepared when faced with this phrase,” says Bonnie Contreras, a nationally certified school psychologist and Senior Director of Clinical Solutions at Presence, in a statement.
The poll also revealed that half of parents believe that their child was set back by the COVID-19 pandemic, citing problems with their quality of education (50%), learning loss (41%), and social and emotional development (40%).
Following the pandemic, behavioral changes, such as increased difficulty with school work (38%), changes in academic performance or interest (37%), increased irritability (35%), and changes in sleep patterns (35%), also became apparent.
More than four years later, 53% believe that their child is still academically behind and 91% of those parents worry they will stay behind for the rest of their schooling. About half of all parents (49%) believe that their child is still playing “catch up” due to gaps in knowledge involving core subjects.
However, these indicators vary by grade level. Parents of high school students are most likely to see low emotional resilience (44%) and fear their children are unprepared for the future (40%). Elementary-aged children, on the other hand, are struggling with underdeveloped social skills (39%) and a lack of classroom decorum (29%).
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges that affected an entire generation of students,” Contreras adds. “Survey results found that 72% of parents believe learning loss is fixable. This ongoing impact is a call to action for schools and communities to come together, working to support students in every environment to shape brighter academic futures.”
Survey methodology
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 parents of school-aged children; the survey was commissioned by Presence and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 9 and Sept. 17, 2024.
