While many might assume that the frantic energy of the holidays ranks as parents’ most challenging season, a growing body of research and recent surveys reveal a different reality—it’s the end of the school year, with its overlapping obligations and the looming, unstructured expanse of summer break, that weighs most heavily on parents’ minds. This pattern, observed in both American and Thai families, holds crucial lessons as societies increasingly recognize the need to support parents and children during transitional periods outside the academic calendar.
A recent Talker Research poll of 2,000 millennial parents in the United States found nearly a third of respondents (29%) feel outright exhaustion as the school year wraps up, with similar proportions citing anxiety (28%) and feeling overwhelmed (21%) as they contemplate how to balance their children’s summer schedules with work and daily routines. Notably, a significant 41% identified the end of the school year as more stressful and hectic than even the winter break, due not only to end-of-year events—concerts, graduations, meetings—but also to the pressure of securing and affording childcare. Costs for day camps average $73 to $87 (USD) per day, making them inaccessible for many families, exacerbating the struggle to maintain stable routines for children and a manageable workload for parents (YourTango).
Why does this end-of-school anxiety matter to Thai parents? Thailand’s academic calendar, which features a long school holiday from mid-March to mid-May—coinciding with the nation’s hottest season—creates a similar seasonal stressor. A commentary in the Bangkok Post observes that while holidays have traditionally involved communal learning or supporting family agriculture, today’s reality often sees a scramble for structure, with parents seeking out summer camps, edutainment programs, or, in many cases, relying on relatives or extended screen time to fill the gaps (Bangkok Post). Unlike in the past, where school breaks were an opportunity for life skills acquisition under the guidance of elders, the pressure on contemporary parents comes not only from the loss of school-provided structure, but also from social and economic changes. As more households become dual-income and extended family support wanes, the responsibility of organizing and financing safe, meaningful experiences for children during the long break becomes ever more daunting.
This has significant implications for family well-being. Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic by a team at Chiang Mai University documents the toll that disrupted routines, limited physical activity, and increased screen time have on children and parents alike. In a cross-sectional survey of 942 Thai parents of school-aged children, high levels of parental stress were closely linked with increased emotional and behavioral issues in children, as well as with deteriorating family functioning (MDPI Behavioral Sciences). Key associated factors included reduced family income, more screen time, sleep problems among children, and a lack of regular physical activities. Parents reported that uncertainty about summer arrangements and work-life balance increased both their own stress and their children’s difficulties, such as peer trouble, hyperactivity, and lowered prosocial behavior.
Crowdsourced data from a separate 2022 study found that rates of anxiety (42.7%) and depression (28.5%) among Thai parents with young children were elevated during periods of prolonged at-home confinement—a trend intensified in lower-income households and where parents could not regularly assist with children’s learning. These mental health challenges were robustly predicted by the presence of mental health or behavioral problems in the children themselves, illustrating a cyclical dynamic: stressed parents have greater difficulty creating supportive routines, and children who lack structure or positive engagement are more likely to develop behavioral issues, which in turn heightens parental distress (PMC Thailand Study).
The critical buffer against this spiral is routine. Pediatric specialists, such as those referenced by Seattle Children’s Hospital and Thai child psychologists, emphasize the importance of stable daily rituals—not only for children’s self-confidence and educational outcomes, but also for whole-family resilience. During the end-of-year chaos, however, routines are easily fractured. Parents must suddenly take on new roles as planners, caregivers, and entertainers, often without sufficient institutional or community support. The financial load is also considerable; in Thailand, although some public institutions offer low-cost holiday activities, the most structured programs, such as private summer camps, remain out of reach for many families.
Thai culture historically values collective family responsibility and intergenerational learning, which, as educational experts note, once offered children organic mentorship and practical skills during school breaks (Bangkok Post). However, urbanization, migration for work, and changes in family structure have eroded some of this support network, exposing parents to increased stress. Additionally, the commercialisation of holiday programs, while adding diversity to children’s options, can exacerbate social stratification, as families with fewer resources struggle to access enriching activities.
Expert voices, including Thai psychiatrists and international educators, advise both targeted policy interventions and practical home strategies. Recommendations include: increasing access to community-based and affordable summer activities, developing official guidance for family-friendly holiday routines, providing employer flexibility for parents, and ensuring mental health support is available for both children and adults during transitional periods. At home, education researchers suggest that maintaining a basic routine—even as simple as setting regular mealtimes or including daily physical activity—can have an outsized impact on family harmony and child development (MDPI Behavioral Sciences, Bangkok Post).
The cultural context in Thailand adds nuances to these challenges and solutions. While many parents today may see holidays as rest time—a reaction against older generations’ more rigid expectations of continuous learning—there is growing awareness that total freedom can be just as stressful as over-structuring. Parents report feeling guilty or anxious about leaving children unsupervised, but equally worry about overburdening themselves with trying to “do it all.” New family models, where groups of parents share responsibilities or alternate hosting activities, reflect both creativity and a return to some communal childrearing traditions.
Looking ahead, the transition into and out of school-year routines will remain a season of heightened vulnerability for parents and children alike—especially in social and economic environments marked by uncertainty. If unaddressed, chronic stress during the end of the school year and summer can have long-term effects on mental health, family relationships, and children’s educational trajectories. However, this period can also be transformed into a positive opportunity for learning, growth, and resilience, provided that families, communities, and policymakers work together to create supportive environments.
For Thai parents, actionable next steps include starting to plan summer routines early, collaborating with other families for shared activities, seeking out community or temple-based holiday programs, and being mindful of their own mental health and well-being as much as their children’s. Policymakers and educators should prioritize making holiday programming more inclusive and affordable, supporting diverse family needs, and integrating mental health resources into community outreach efforts. Ultimately, reframing the end-of-year dread as a communal challenge—not just a private struggle—can help families, schools, and societies respond more effectively to the evolving realities of modern parenting.
Sources:
- Parents Reveal The Time Of Year They Dread The Most, And It’s Not The Holidays (YourTango)
- Association between Family Functioning, Child Emotional and Behavioral Problems, and Parental Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand (2024) (MDPI Behavioral Sciences)
- Self-Reported Anxiety and Depression among Parents of Primary School Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand, 2022 (PMC)
- School holidays are for learning (Bangkok Post)