In Their Own Words: What Parents Say Is Helping Them Most
We invited parents to tell us: What is helping you and your family the most right now? Clear patterns emerged in their answers, though the factors that families found helpful varied considerably across income levels.
The Costs of Essential Baby Items Have Gone Up, and Parents Are Feeling the Toll
During 2022 we have seen nationwide increases in the costs of basic essentials. For families with young children, steep increases in the cost of baby items have been especially challenging.
Parents On Struggles With Well-being and Emotional Distress During the Pandemic
In responses to our survey since April of 2020, challenges with well-being and emotional distress were described more consistently than any other topic.
In Their Own Words: Families' Biggest Challenges During the Pandemic
Explore the most commonly occurring themes around pandemic challenges that have emerged from our past fact sheets and examine how these themes vary in different demographic groups.
School Shootings Are Leaving Parents of Young Children and Child Care Providers on Edge
School shootings like the one at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX have left the country concerned for the safety of children, teachers, and providers at schools and child care centers.
Forced Out of Work: The Pandemic's Effects on Women and Work
The pandemic continues to cause disproportionate numbers of women to leave the workforce. Here's what women in our survey are currently saying about work and how their situations have changed over the past year.
Widening Disparities: The Unique Challenges of Families of Children With Special Needs
Families of children with special needs have continued to experience more material hardship, hunger, and emotional distress compared to those who do not have children with special needs. In December 2020, we published a blog post that summarized the challenges that families of children with special needs have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This factsheet reveals the disparities and unique challenges since then.
Student Debt In The Early Childhood Workforce
Economic hardship within the early childhood workforce is compounded by low wages and significant debt, including student debt.
Households With Young Children and Child Care Providers Are Still Facing Hunger
In late 2021, we reported on the significant number of households with young children that were experiencing hunger. In this fact sheet we update those findings and add to them data about hunger among child care providers.
Not Letting Up: More Families Experience Material Hardship as Cost of Living Rises
In this fact sheet, we explore what types of material hardship families with young children are reporting and how experiences differ by income level.
Child Care Difficulties On the Rise for Parents of Young Children
In this fact sheet, we look at the most recent trends in child care challenges and disruptions from both parents' and child care providers' perspectives.
The Child Tax Credit Is Buffering Families from Financial Hardship
Since the start of the advance Child Tax Credit payments in July 2021, 76% of parents in our national survey report having received the payments. How are the payments affecting families’ financial situations and emotional well‐being?
Child Care Shortages Weigh Heavily on Parents and Providers
In this fact sheet, we look at child care staffing issues from both parents’ and child care providers’ perspectives.
Still In Uncertain Times; Still Facing Hunger
In this fact sheet, we revisit the topic of food insecurity with updated information and look at whether and how families’ experiences with hunger have changed since December 2020.
Emotional Distress On the Rise for Parents... Again
Parents in our survey reported decreasing levels of emotional distress during spring 2021, but this trend has since reversed. In this fact sheet, we explore the reasons for their increasing levels of emotional distress.
COVID-19 Vaccination and Parents of Young Children - October 2021
In this fact sheet, we look at COVID-19 vaccination rates and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine among parents of young children in the US.
On Shaky Ground Part 2
In a previous fact sheet, we showed that the unpredictability in paying for basic needs during the pandemic had a negative impact on caregivers’ and children’s well-being. In Part 2, we focus on other ways that unpredictability in finances affects the lives of families with young children.
Who Is Providing for Child Care Providers? Part 2
In a previous fact sheet, we described challenges that child care providers are facing during the pandemic. In Part 2, we delve further into how their lives are affected by food insecurity, economic hardship, and work schedule uncertainty.
School Daze: Renewed Uncertainty and Difficult Decisions
As the school year begins, parents of young children share significant concerns about their children's safety and education, and there is a range of opinions about what to do to address these concerns.
Parents' Expectations About the Child Tax Credit
We asked parents about their understanding of and ability to access CTC payments, whether they expected to receive the payments, and how they were planning to use this new source of income. Here is what they had to say.