76% of working parents say their kids’ summer schedules impact their job focus

For many parents, summer is anything but a vacation. According to new research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), commissioned by Bright Horizons (NYSE: BFAM) and conducted by The Harris Poll, 68% of parents agree that sometimes summer feels like a break for everyone but themselves—and this is particularly challenging for working parents— with 76% saying the level of focus they have at work during the summer is directly tied to the reliability of their children’s summer schedules.

As working parents try to juggle professional responsibilities with increased family demands, their level of focus and productivity tends to suffer during the summer months, with 87% reporting that they experience challenges or disruptions while their children are home in the summer.

The survey results found:

• One in three said they need to step away at points during the day to check on/take care of their kids or have to leave work early more often to pick them up from activities.
• One in three reported worrying about what their children are doing at home while they are working and were distracted from work thinking about their children’s schedules.
• More than one in three said available activities/care not lining up with their work schedule is a challenge when arranging their children’s schedules during the summer.

Support For Working Parents

To alleviate the burden and provide more peace of mind, many working parents are looking to their employers for additional support. More than three-quarters of working parents (76%) say they wish their employer offered more supports to help them arrange a reliable summer schedule for their children.

“Today’s working parents aren’t afraid to speak up and ask for what they need,” commented Stephen Kramer, CEO of Bright Horizons. “When employers offer meaningful supports that help working parents—whether by providing access to childcare, back-up care, camp resources, or other benefits—they’re not only relieving pressure on parents, but are fostering a more engaged, loyal, and productive workforce.”

About the Bright Horizons Modern Family Index

Over the past decade, Bright Horizons has tracked trends impacting working families through its annual Modern Family Index (MFI), highlighting the unique challenges and priorities they’ve faced. In 2025, the report has been refreshed and will encompass several waves of survey data focused on timely topics to be released throughout the year.

To download Wave Two of the 2025 Bright Horizons Modern Family Index, click here.

Research Method

The research was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll between April 24-28, 2025, among 2,083 adults ages 18 and older – among whom 634 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 18 years of age (“parents”) and 500 are a parent or guardian of child(ren) under 18 years of age who are employed full or part-time. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, marital status, size of household, and political party affiliation to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Respondents are selected among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. The sample data is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.

Bright Horizons^® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and childcare, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 35 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates more than 1,000 early education and childcare centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India, and serves more than 1,450 of the world’s leading employers. Bright Horizons’ early education and childcare centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. For more information, go to www.brighthorizons.com.

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68% of parents agree that sometimes summer feels like a break for everyone but themselves—and this is particularly challenging for working parents.