Culture Post: Six in 10 Moms Struggle with Planning Kids’ Summer Vacations

Summer vacation may be exciting for kids, but it’s no picnic for parents. Six in 10 moms say they struggle with planning activities for their kids during the summer months.

A recent study of 2,000 mothers with children between five and 12 finds that two in three want to make the summer break special for their kids but aren’t sure how.

Forty-six percent say finding both outdoor and indoor activities that’ll keep their kids entertained for long periods of time can be a challenge. Other difficulties include getting their kids into the activities they want due to high demand (43%) and coming up with new ideas beyond the same ones they do every year (42%).

While most moms feel happy (47%) or excited (45%) about this upcoming summer, 53 percent find it challenging to plan family-friendly activities on summer weekends. Trips to the zoo (53%), movie nights (51%), and museum visits (49%) are among the toughest to plan. Meanwhile, cooking and baking (17%) and video games (32%) rank as the easiest.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Mother’s Cookies, the survey also shows that seven in 10 moms look forward to the last day of school and having their kids home for summer. Sixty-two percent even have “end-of-school-year traditions” with their kids. Of those respondents, 50 percent take their kid’s photo at the end of each grade they finish, 49 percent burn old homework, schoolwork, or workbooks, and 48 percent write “thank you” notes to their kid’s teachers.

Moms usually prepare to spend the summer with their kids by finding a summer camp or sports team for them (59%), signing themselves and their kids up for arts and crafts classes (55%), and buying arts and craft kits, activity books, and books to do at home (54%).

Nearly half (47%) of moms start their summer off with a to-do list of activities to share with their kids, averaging about eight items per list. A whopping 88 percent end up checking off all or some of the items. While 30 percent get in “soccer mom” mode and play the game with their kids, many moms also join their kids for swimming (35%), tennis (30%), and basketball (30%).

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/moms-summer-vacations/

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