AI is helping parents lighten the mental load — and reclaim time for what matters most

June 17, 2025 at 08:01 AM EDT

(BPT) - Anyone raising children knows how challenging it can be. For today's parents, the heaviest load is often mental: navigating household logistics, daily routines, meal planning and more. While the school year adds homework and after-school activities, summertime means juggling irregular schedules, family vacations and back-to-school shopping.

How demanding are these pressures of modern parenting? According to a report from Harris Poll and Skylight, parents spend up to 32 hours per week managing household logistics. For moms, the burden is even heavier: They shoulder 71% of the planning, scheduling and organizing at home.

But a new qualitative survey from HP spotlights an ally many parents are using to support the daily juggle: AI.

"Parents today are doing the impossible - juggling work, family and nonstop logistics," said Laura Morris, global head of Consumer PC Marketing, HP Inc. "We're designing AI PCs to take some of that work off their shoulders. Whether it's prepping for a meeting or a birthday party, our technology is helping people feel more supported, present and fulfilled - at work and at home."

Here are practical, inventive ways parents are using AI not just at work, but in the everyday moments that matter most at home.

Kitchen helper: Meal planning is complicated for busy parents, especially when their children have discriminating tastes, but AI can generate meal ideas and recipes based on family preferences.

One mom trained AI on her family's food preferences and inputs ingredients to get customized variations that suit everyone - her fitness-focused partner, picky toddler and weaning baby. She even uses AI to create "menu cards," giving her toddler more autonomy at mealtime.

Travel planner: Coordinating family trips involves lots of details, from routes and itineraries to reservations and meals. Whether you're planning quick getaways or extended vacations, AI can be a resourceful travel buddy.

When planning an international trip, one mom tapped AI to build a practical, fun-filled itinerary with something for every family member. AI saved her hours, helped with jet lag tips and local food suggestions - making the trip smoother for everyone and helping her reconnect with the joy of planning.

Magic moment manager: For holidays, birthdays and graduations, it's tough to continually create magic. Some parents are turning to AI to plan special moments, without all the stress.

For example, AI helped a family develop scavenger hunts to find holiday treats and customized notes from childhood icons like the Tooth Fairy. Another family used AI to create customized invitations, decorations and themed games for a birthday party celebrating their child's favorite character. AI planning tools transformed what might have been a stress-inducing occasion into a fun event for everyone.

Support finder: Growing up is not just parties and vacations. Sometimes children need support for mental health and other challenges, and it can be hard for parents to know where to turn.

One dad sought support to help his son during a mental health crisis, including navigating the medical and insurance systems. AI generated a shortlist of providers specializing in their child's needs in their insurance network that offered flexible appointments, helping the family avoid delays and focus on being fully present for their son when he needed them most. Another family relied on AI to learn about autism when their daughter was diagnosed at age 14. They discovered useful books and resources to help them manage home, school and work responsibilities to meet their child's needs.

Athletic trainer: From team coaches to weekend warriors, many parents struggle to juggle children's - or their own - athletic pursuits with busy schedules.

A busy dad used AI to design focused, age-appropriate drills for his son's Little League team. With limited time and energetic 6- to 8-year-olds, it helped make practices fun and focused - turning time crunch into connection, and effort into joy. For a mom training for a triathlon, AI developed a training plan with short, impactful workouts, plus tips to help combine family time and active time so she could accomplish her goals.

Transition tackler: Childhood can involve tricky transitions, like moving houses. Moving cross-country with a 3-year-old was eased for one family with AI's help to map out a plan of action ahead of the transition. This included conversations to help ease the change, rituals like saying goodbye to friends and teachers, plus ways to practice adjusting to change in smaller ways first.

From tutor to college-planning coordinator: For many parents and students, AI has come a long way with them, from serving as a real-time tutor as they worked to understand and study new subjects, to a personal coordinator as kids take their biggest educational step. That transition to college is often one of the largest for families and can seem overwhelming. A family preparing for this milestone used AI to manage everything from comparing schools and tracking application timelines to planning campus visits, navigating financial aid forms and more. Streamlining this process helped the family feel confident about tackling this transition together.

"These insights from families really hit home for me," added Morris. "AI is often my own hero at bedtime when my kids insist on personalized stories - with AI, every night brings an exciting new adventure, and I escape the struggle of coming up with new ideas constantly. AI really lightens the mental load, giving more time for what truly matters - whether it's work or being more present with family."

AI's potential isn't limited to cloud-based assistants. It's now part of the PCs people rely on every day - powering faster, more secure ways to get things done. The HP OmniBook 5 AI PCs are the newest series of AI-enabled laptops that help parents stay on top of it all, with tools that run locally, keep data private and support life on the go.

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AI is helping parents lighten the mental load — and reclaim time for what matters most

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