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School’s Out, Stress Is In: Why Summer Break Is Breaking Parents

June is here, school’s almost out, and parents across the country are quietly (or not-so-quietly) panicking. Because with the final school bell comes the annual summer child care scramble: a high-stakes game of who’s watching the kids, where, for how long, and for how much.

For many working parents, this stress didn’t begin today. It started back in the dead of winter when we set reminders and programmed alarms to ensure we could snag a coveted spot in summer camp before the slots filled up. Those who got in consider themselves lucky. For everyone else, it’s a whirlwind of piecing together a patchwork of child care coverage for the next eight to 10 weeks.

That patchwork includes calling in favors from grandparents, swapping coverage days with trusted neighborhood parents, hiring college students home for the summer, and toggling between multiple part-time programs that often begin at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. (which, let’s be real, is a total joke for anyone working a standard 9-to-5).

This scramble often leads to parents hoarding PTO, spending more than they can afford on back-up care, or feeling like they’re failing at both parenting and their jobs.

And the mental load is real. According to new research from the Modern Family Index (MFI), 76% of working parents say their kids’ summer schedules impact their job focus. And for the 34 million households with school-age children, the stakes are high. The Center for American Progress reported that 40% of parents reduce their work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to child care challenges — a number that spikes during summer months.

It’s not just parents feeling the pressure. Kids are affected, too. Many older children are left to stay home alone, especially in families where child care is financially out of reach. The Urban Institute estimates that over 5 million children under 14 regularly spend time without supervision during the summer. That can impact everything from academic retention to emotional well-being.

The Summer Care Price Tag

Summer child care doesn’t just require creative scheduling — it demands serious cash. The average weekly cost of summer programs ranges from $50 to $500 per child, depending on location and services provided. For parents with multiple kids or who might need “extended day” options, that cost balloons quickly, rivaling or exceeding their monthly mortgage.

And while subsidies and vouchers exist, they’re limited, often underfunded, and frequently inaccessible to middle-income families who still can’t afford private options. When combined with the already sky-high costs of living, summer becomes the financial breaking point for many families — forcing trade-offs between savings, PTO, and even employment.

Let’s be real: summer care isn’t a luxury expense — it’s a basic necessity. And right now, too many families are being priced out.

Child Care Isn’t Charity — It’s An Economic Imperative

We need more than a few scattered camps or makeshift co-ops. We need scalable, systemic change, starting with local, state and the federal government stepping up to:

  • Expand funding for subsidized summer care programs for low- and middle-income families, especially through public school districts or community organizations.
  • Invest in summer learning and enrichment programs that run full-day hours (not just 10am to 3pm), bridging the gap between education and care.
  • Offer grants to local municipalities to open up parks and rec facilities for full-day summer programming that is accessible, affordable, and inclusive.
  • Support tax incentives or direct subsidies for families paying out-of-pocket for summer care.

Summer Perks Done Right

We also need workplace cultures that acknowledge the reality of summer parenting.

While many employers still expect business as usual during the summer, there are companies that stand out for offering flexibility and understanding. Patagonia has long offered on-site child care and flexible hours, allowing employees to meet the shifting needs of family life. Starting this summer, AT&T is piloting a 10-week summer camp for their employees with kids aged 4–12. The company decided to do the pilot after hearing loud and clear from employee focus groups that “summers are hard.”

Employers can also offer other options, including:

  • Backup child care stipends that can be used to cover summer care costs.
  • Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) that are employer-funded and enable parents to use funds for child care needs such as summer camps.
  • “Summer hours” or work-from-anywhere options that help parents balance professional responsibilities with family needs

And at Moms First, we live what we preach. Our office shuts down the final week of August, a time when most summer camps have ended but school hasn’t yet begun.

This gives our team the chance to close our laptops without guilt, soak up the last days of summer with our loved ones, and transition into the school year without burning through PTO or arranging last-minute coverage.

This isn’t just good for morale. It’s good for our well-being and productivity.

This Is Our Moment to Change the System

As The Cut so poignantly noted in Summer Child Care Is a Special Kind of Hell: “Nothing makes it more glaringly obvious that capitalism is at odds with kids like summer vacation.”

It doesn’t have to be this way. Families should be able to look forward to summer, not fear it. But until we treat child care as the economic imperative it truly is, the summer scramble will remain an annual ritual of stress and inequity.

So if you’re currently holding together a summer care plan with duct tape and dreams, just know: you’re not alone. It shouldn’t be this hard. And at Moms First, we’re fighting for a country where it’s not.

Right now, the Trump administration and Congress are considering several policy packages, including expansions of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and other tax credits that could be beneficial to families. That means this is a moment of real opportunity.

We need every voice — especially now — to push for policies that reflect the real lives of families. Because child care shouldn’t be a seasonal scavenger hunt. It shouldn’t be a stress test. And it definitely shouldn’t be reserved only for those with deep pockets or flexible jobs. It should be a right and treated like critical infrastructure — like roads, schools, and clean drinking water.

So go ahead, raise your voice, raise some eyebrows, raise hell if you need to. Our kids (and our sanity) are worth it.

 
PSA: Don’t Fall for the Fake Promises

Recently, you may have seen viral TikToks (like this one or this one) claiming that President Trump is offering $1,200 a month to stay-at-home moms. We wish it were true — moms deserve real support. But these videos are fake, likely made by AI, and designed to manipulate moms with false hope. It’s not just misinformation — it’s exploitation. If you see someone share one of these fake videos, call it out — and urge them to join the Moms First movement, where we’re fighting for real solutions: paid leave, affordable child care, and leaders who actually show up for families. Let’s call out the fakes and demand better.

 
If you’re frustrated with the state of summer child care, now is the time to act. Moms and allies can:

  • Urge your representatives to support expanded child care tax credits and full-day summer programming. First Five Years Find made it easy to email lawmakers and tell them to save and expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) — use this simple email form.
  • Share your summer care story on social media. Be sure to tag @momsfirstus and your lawmakers.

 
Check out what people are saying about Moms First in the news:


Summer shouldn’t be a stress test for parents — it should be a season of ice cream cones, stargazing, and memory-making. But until our systems catch up, we’ve got to raise our voices louder than the summer cicadas.

 
Here’s to surviving summer — together,
Reshma Saujani