Like many parents, Laura goes through the summer holidays with a certain amount of stress and a long to-do list.
If for most people, summer vacation is above all synonymous with rest, for parents, and especially mothers, the period is far from being conducive to relaxation. In general, from June onwards, the mental load of mothers weighs more. Between school parties, end-of-year shows, snacks, the little attentions to find for teachers and Atsem, the organization of children’s vacations, the list of things to do is much longer than usual. “We’re ending the month of June on our knees, and at the same time, we’re already receiving requests for the September return to school,” Laura, 39, who runs the account @cestpaslamereaboire on Instagram, tells us.
For this mother of three, the June tunnel, which has been a bit more talked about in recent years, then gives way to a few weeks of calm and family fun. Then, towards the end of the summer, the mental load returns with a vengeance. “I try not to put any extra pressure on myself, but it’s true that from August onwards, I think about buying school supplies, registering for the canteen, extracurricular activities, and organising the start of the school year in general,” she explains to us. Without forgetting that there is also the mission of getting her children back into a rhythm before school starts again.
Summer vacations ultimately have a completely different flavor, even if we also spend some great times with our children. “At the end of August, it’s the rush and that’s it until the end of September. Our life is like on pause, it revolves around the start of the school year.” A rather intense period that can be difficult to live through for any parent. “For me, the hardest part is getting back into a routine, getting organized again, planning the school-home trips,” adds the mother.
But then, how can we lighten this mental load? For Laura, one of the solutions that could relieve her would be to extend the start of the school year over a slightly longer period until October. “Because all these meetings at school that pile up, plus with three children, if the period was a little longer, we would have less need to be constantly solicited for 15 days. That’s an additional mental load that is added and that I find difficult,” she emphasizes. Another option: lighten certain administrative procedures, in particular the famous information sheets which are the same at the start of each school year and which parents must systematically fill out. An idea shared by many parents on social networks.