Nearly all of today's parents said they are willing to go to "any lengths necessary" to make sure their child is succeeding in school, including resolving the issue by themselves.
Talker Research conducted a survey on behalf of Presence, a provider of live, online therapy in PreK-12 schools. The survey polled 2,000 parents of school-aged children between Sept. 9 and Sept. 17.
That survey found that 92% of parents, or 1,840 respondents, said they were willing to do anything to ensure their child excels in school. Of those, 45% said the first step they will take is to speak to their child about any issues preventing them from succeeding, 20% said they will talk with their child's teacher, and 10% will attempt to solve the issue by themselves, per the results.
Study Found Parents Would Ensure Their Child Excels
Apart from concerns about their child's academic success, 64% of parents surveyed also said they worried their child was not reaching their full potential.
Specifically, 66% of parents said they were anxious about their child's growth and development. These concerns were related to their child's emotional well-being (37%), social development (28%), future preparedness (24%), and behavioral issues (23%).
Furthermore, 85% of parents said they had new concerns about their child every month while 20% indicated finding concerns daily. At least 28% of these concerns were related to their child's grades in school, another 28% were on new behaviors or habits, 22% were related to comments from their child, and 20% were feedback from their child's teacher.
Challenges in Education
The survey noted that the COVID-19 pandemic introduced challenges to students, including distance learning and school closures. Post-pandemic, parents say their children are still struggling to catch up in school and socializing. At least 49% of parents said their child is finding it difficult to catch up on core subjects.
This echoes a report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which examined the lingering effects of the pandemic. That study found that reading scores among students aged 9 fell by five points while mathematics scores fell by seven points in 2022 compared to two years prior.
Additionally, the Talker Research survey found that 38% of parents cited emotional resilience and 32% said their child struggled to make friends.
