Parents ‘Relieved’ School Is Starting

Many parents in the UK are looking forward to the end of the school holidays, a survey has found. In total, 82 per cent of those questioned stated that they’re looking forward to returning to more of a routine when September comes around.

The Independent revealed that one in four of the parents they surveyed had been counting down the days until the school holidays were over.

Hello Fresh UK, who carried out the survey, found that one-third were missing the set bedtimes for their children, while one-fifth were missing the regular mealtimes.

Almost half of parents said that returning to school would also mean that they ate more healthy meals, and they’d be less likely to give into their children’s requests for treats.

Those who’ve found this summer a real struggle with childcare may want to consider using an au pair agency to help them find some help looking after their youngsters in the school holidays.

Some parents even said that their children aren’t as happy over the holidays because of the lack of structure, which is where an au pair could also help.

Andy Dupin, a chef with HelloFresh UK, said that this is one of the most important times of year for families. “When it comes to getting back into a routine, September is bigger than January for most families,” he stated.

While many parents may welcome the return of the school year for the routines and the fact that the kids will be occupied during the days, there’s also the financial cost of the new school year to consider.

A Nationwide survey found that the average spend per child at this time of year has increased by £15 compared to September in 2017. On average, parents intend to spend £189.29 per child buying the likes of school uniforms, coats and shoes.

The building society also found that many parents are more worried about the back to school period than about the school holidays themselves. 48 per cent of the mums surveyed said that they worried more about the cost of getting their kids ready for their return to the classroom than they did about spending during the holidays.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has urged parents and carers to make sure that children with asthma are using their inhalers before they return to school. The organisation revealed that asthma-related hospital admissions among school-age children increase threefold in September.

They believe that one of the reasons for this is that children’s routines are disrupted over the summer holidays, which means they don’t always take their inhalers when they should.

Karen Rodesano, an asthma school nurse, advised parents and carers to get their children back into their regular habits with their inhalers as soon as possible, stressing that ideally they should go back to their normal routine with the medication two weeks before returning to school.

She also advises taking “simple precautions”, which include packing their inhaler and spacer and making sure they have an asthma plan at school, because these can “make a huge difference to their health and wellbeing”.