Luisa Zissman reveals secret weapon for beating back-to-school stress

 

LONDON, UK. 29th August, 2024 - More than half of UK parents say they’ll be stressed when the new school year starts (54%) and agree that getting children ready to go back to school in September is one of the most stressful times of the year as a parent (52%).

 

This is according to new research[1] revealed today from Life360, the family connection and safety company, which found that almost half of parents worry about how they’ll manage busy term-time schedules when their children go back to school this September. More than three quarters agree that tweens and teens don’t want to think about going back to school until the last possible moment (77%), further adding to the mental load of Mum and Dad!

 

Half of parents surveyed agreed they find it difficult to get their children ready to return to school after the summer holidays. Reasons include establishing a new routine after more relaxed holiday schedules, planning and organising school transportation, coordinating schedules for extracurricular activities, adjusting bedtimes and wake-up times, motivating kids to be excited for the new term, shopping for school supplies, and re-establishing homework routines.

 

As parents are busy prepping packed lunches and sewing on name tags, making sure the family’s tech is set up correctly ahead of the new term can provide peace of mind whilst giving kids more independence. In fact, 40% of those surveyed say they have used location-sharing apps to help calm family stress and coordinate busy schedules.

 

Luisa Zissman, podcaster and Mum of three, including teenage daughter Dixie, has partnered with Life360 as parents look to coordinate the chaos of family life and alleviate stress this back-to-school season. She said: "Back-to-school season can be super stressful trying to co-ordinate the family’s busy schedule. It can be made even more difficult when my daughter is off doing her own thing and doesn’t answer calls or texts, or let me know what her plans are after school. But I've found that giving her the freedom she craves, while staying connected through Life360, really helps us both.”

When asked the top things their children do that frustrates them as back-to-school season approaches, parents cited ignoring calls and texts, not sharing updates on their whereabouts, not letting them know after-school plans, forgetting to charge phones, and coming home later than planned. In fact, the survey found that parents send on average five messages each week asking about their child’s whereabouts – with 59% sometimes getting ignored – and another four weekly texts trying to find out when they’ll be home.

As a busy working Mum, Luisa knows the stresses of organising a hectic household all too well. She continued, “Knowing where she is without having to constantly chase her for updates has taken a lot of stress out of our routine and helped me better coordinate our family’s busy schedule. It’s comforting to know exactly when she’s on her way home or heading to a friend's place. This peace of mind lets us navigate the back-to-school chaos with a lot less stress."

 

With almost half of parents who use location-sharing technology with their offspring agreeing it makes them worry less about what they are up to (47%), the top reasons cited for its use are as follows:

David Rice, International General Manager at Life360, said: “The back-to-school season is stressful enough for both parents and kids without constantly chasing each other for updates on each other’s whereabouts. By ensuring the whole family is always in the loop, parents and kids can ease some of that anxiety and navigate the chaos with a bit more confidence.”

He continued, “It’s no wonder Life360 saw a 66% increase in UK registrations in the first week of September last year. With useful features such as real-time location sharing, arrival and departure notifications, low battery alerts, location history and SOS with emergency services dispatch, Life360 can genuinely help alleviate frustrations for parents as their kids head back for the new school year.”