Going back to school provides both excitement and anxiety for students and their parents.
At least, that’s what many respondents say in a recently released survey of children and their guardians. Thirty-one percent of parents surveyed in an Ebates “Back to School” survey said they aren’t excited about the new school semester because they’ll miss spending time with their children. Meanwhile, students listed free time as the top reason they weren’t excited about the end of summer with 49 percent saying they’ll miss the down time.
Eighteen percent of parents said they’re worried about their children being bullied compared to only four percent of the children surveyed.
As for that dreaded “H” word — homework — 37 percent of the students listed it as the reason they weren’t anxious to return to school.
And although parents frowned upon the prospect of shuttling their children to and from school, only two percent of the students surveyed said they hate riding the school bus.
On the other hand, the delights for students included being excited about spending time with their friends and starting sports while parents looked forward to their children learning new subjects and having more “me” time.
“The back to school season brings many different emotions and at Ebates we want to make the shopping portion of back to school as easy and stress-free as possible,” said Amit Patel, CEO of Ebates. “We understand that staying within budget and choosing the right items are important for teens and parents and Ebates makes it easier and more affordable than ever to shop for everything you need — no matter where you are,” Patel said of the reason behind the national survey conducted by Propeller Insights in June.
More than 1,000 adults and 500 teens took part in the survey.
But, for parents, it’s not just about shopping.
“We worry a lot about our son having good teachers and a safe surrounding,” said Denise Fisher whose son attends Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest.
“The fun part is clothes and materials shopping; the hard part is knowing to what degree my child will be educated and how serious the educators are about teaching my child,” Fisher said.
The Ebates survey also noted that teen boys and girls revealed that the most important items to have for back to school are new clothes, new shoes and new school gear. They also ranked a new haircut and new makeup as somewhat important.
Parents’ opinions stack up similarly. They ranked as very important, a new haircut, new shoes, new clothes and new school gear.
Further, almost one-third of teens said the most important thing they wish for on the first day of school is making sure they’re in classes with their best friends and getting the classes they want.
Students also listed as important: getting placed in an honors class; being placed in a class with someone for whom they have a crush; and getting the teachers they want.
Overall, when asked how teens feel about going back to school, 75 percent said they enjoy it, with nine percent admitting that they really love it.
“That’s half the battle,” Fisher said. “If I know my child really loves school, then there’s no pressure on me to have to convince him that it’s best for him and there’s no stress in getting him up in the mornings for school,” she said.