Parents in NI reveal their struggles with the cost of living, school, mental health and more

The National Parent Survey 2024 is Parentkind’s new research that puts the views and voices of UK parents front and centre. Over 5,000 parents took the time to share their experiences with us and the challenges they face every day as a parent. This year’s survey covers a broad range of topics affecting parents, including mental health, screen time, the cost-of-living crisis and school attendance. The Northern Ireland report can be read here.

• 41 per cent of parents in Northern Ireland say they have rationed their heating in the past 12 months

• New National Parent Survey reveals 41 per cent of parents in Northern Ireland have rationed their heating in the past 12 months much higher than the UK average which sits at 35 per cent

• Parents in Northern Ireland are more likely than the UK average to be happy with the quality of their child’s education (35%) but most concerned over school costs for uniforms (66%), subject specific materials (29%), the cost of regular donations to the school fund (28%)

• Overall almost 1 in 5 (19%) parents in Northern Ireland are unhappy most of the time with over a third (36%) of parents who have poor mental health saying they have sought help from their GP or other health professional regarding their poor mental health

• 1 in 5 (22%) of parents with poor mental health say they have missed work in the past 12 months.

• More than half (56%) of parents from Northern Ireland whose child uses an electronic device outside of school are concerned with how long their child spends on electronic devices on an average day with 11 per cent of parents revealing their child spends seven or more hours on a screen

The National Parent Survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the parenting charity Parentkind, reveals that over 4 in 10 (41%) parents in Northern Ireland have rationed their heating in the past 12 months compared to a UK average of 35 per cent.  This means an estimated 136,800 children in Northern Ireland could be at risk of living in cold, damp homes as their parents struggle to afford to heat their homes.

Over a third (35%) of parents in Northern Ireland are struggling financially with 19 per cent of parents worryingly getting into debt each month, almost a quarter (23%) are worrying about paying their rent or mortgage and 19 per cent of parents have reported skipping meals in the last 12 months to save money.

In this large-scale survey of parents, including many from Northern Ireland, the charity found that despite the current challenging nationwide attendance figures, attendance matters to parents in Northern Ireland with the majority of parents (81%) confirming they believe that every school day matters and over half (54%) saying their child has gone to school despite being unwell.

The report also reveals that parents across Northern Ireland are struggling to afford the cost of sending their children to school with two thirds of parents citing uniforms (66%), school trips (46%) and school meals and drinks (32%) as causing the biggest financial challenge. Northern Ireland has the highest number of parents concerned with the cost of regular voluntary donations to the school fund with almost 1 in 3 (28%) saying this was a concern compared to a UK average of 15 per cent.

UK wide comparison

• Parents in Northern Ireland are the most happy with their children’s education with 81 per cent claiming to be happy with the quality of their child’s education compared to a UK average of 72 per cent.

• When it comes to enrichment in education, parents in Northern Ireland are more likely to say that their child’s school offers a good range of after-school and extra-curricular provision (67%) compared to the UK average of 60 per cent.

• When asked about screen time parents in Northern Ireland whose child uses an electronic device outside of school were most likely to say time spent on screens was having a negative impact on school work with a quarter (25%) of parents saying screen time was having a negative impact on school work or educational attainment compared to a UK average figure of 19 per cent.

Parents mental health

The National Parent Survey is the largest of its kind in the UK and reveals worrying results about parents’ mental health and the impact this is having upon their life. Over 1 in 5 (22%) parents in Northern Ireland revealed they have had poor mental health over the last 12 months. Among those with poor mental health:

• Over 6 in 10 (63%) revealed they have withdrawn from friends.
• Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) of parents from Northern Ireland have withdrawn from family.
• Almost a third (32%) of parents in Northern Ireland said they have used medication
• 36 per cent of parents have visited the GP or other health practitioner regarding poor mental health
• 1 in 5 (22%) of parents from Northern Ireland have missed work due to the impact of poor mental health.

Parents and education

• Support for universal free school meals is high amongst parents from Northern Ireland with almost three quarters (71%) agreeing they should be free for all children rising to 76 per cent for all primary school children only. Similar results were revealed for breakfast clubs with 74 per cent of parents supporting free breakfast clubs for all school children rising sharply to 81 per cent for all primary school children only.

• When it comes to parent’s involvement in education over 4 in 10 (43%) of parents from the region feel that schools don’t give them clear information on tools to support their child’s learning at home. Almost 4 in 10 (39%) parents would like to have more time reading with or to their child for fun and 36 per cent would like more time to help with school work.

• Parents in Northern Ireland value communication from their child’s school with the majority saying school reports (95%) and parents’ evenings (87%) are useful falling to 78 per cent when it comes to the usefulness of homework but still higher than the UK average of 70 per cent.

Screen time

Parents remain worried about the amount of time their children spend on screens and the impact this is having on their life with parents in Northern Ireland whose child has access to electronic devices being most likely to be concerned about the negative influence social media has on their children with 40 per cent confirming this is a concern compared to the UK average of 31 per cent.

• Over half of parents (56%) in Northern Ireland whose child uses an electronic device outside of school said they are concerned with the amount of time their child spends on an electronic device with 76 per cent of parents revealing time spent on devices has caused disagreements with their children.
• Over three quarters (76%) report impacts that screen time is having including;
  • missing family time (39%), causing issues with tiredness or sleep (36%), being negatively influenced by people on social media (40%), and issues with behaviour (27%).

The National Parent Survey was conducted by YouGov during April and May this year. YouGov spoke to more than 5,500 parents across the UK making this one of the largest nationwide polls of parent opinion.

Commenting on the National Parenting Survey, Parentkind CEO Jason Elsom said:

“This large scale parent survey is an important insight into what is really going on with families across the UK and what parents really think. Too many parents tell us they are unhappy most of the time, with parent mental health concerns a big worry, parents are missing work because they are suffering with mental health problems. Many parents are struggling to make ends meet and have only a few hundred pounds left in the bank for a rainy day. It’s no wonder the cost of school worries parents, with all the little extras adding up.

The amount of time children spend on screens is once again a big issue for parents and the National Parent Survey shows it is having a big impact on family life causing disagreements as some children are now spending 7 hours a day on smartphones and tablets and it is stopping them from sleeping and ruining family time.

The National Parent Survey is one of the biggest parent polls in the UK and is a wake up call to policy makers to put parents first, listen to their concerns and make life better for parents, we’ve put forward a plan to make this happen based on the voice of parents from across the UK.”

Naomi McBurney is Senior Policy Researcher, Northern Ireland for Parentkind

Parentkind is one of the largest parent charities in the UK with a network of almost 20,000 parent groups in schools across the UK. For almost 70 years we have worked with parents in schools and each year we publish the National Parent Survey to give parents a voice.