Parents 'feel more intelligent' after year of homeschooling kids during lockdown

16 July 2021, 13:01 | Updated: 16 July 2021, 13:18

By Heart

@thisisheart

For many of us, that last day of school is the day we bid farewell to trigonometry and iambic pentameter - well until 2020 happened...

A new study has found that seventy-five percent of parents feel like they're more knowledgable after a year of homeschooling their kids.

The coronavirus pandemic took away almost all of the freedoms we take for granted, including the luxury of children spending the day at school being taught by experts and spending time with their peers.

But it seems that a lot of the parents who were left to fill the teaching void have gained new knowledge and confidence after being made to step up as their children's education provider.

A survey of 1,020 UK parents, from One4all Gift Cards, discovered that not only did three quarters of respondents feel more knowledgable, but 37 per cent feel better equipped now to help their child with their schoolwork as they have a greater understanding of it.

Read now: Nursery hits out at "appalling" parents who are on their phones at pick-up time

More than a quarter (29 per cent) have learned something new this last academic year.

And the same number believe that even though their patience levels have been tested, they feel that they have become a better parent due to home schooling their child. 

The research found that history took up the most homeschooling time, with parents spending just over 3 hours looking back at the past of England's Kings and Queens and World Wars over an average week.

Maths was the second longest with 2 hours 48 minutes a week, closely followed by 2 hours, 45 minutes of English.

A third of parents admitted that they were re-educated on subjects that they had long forgotten about, and another third were reminded of hobbies and subjects they used to enjoy.

Read now: Kate Middleton admits lockdown with her three children has been "exhausting"

Emma Willis opens up on 'immense pressure' of homeschooling during lockdown

Last year the internet was full of parents helping each other combat the overwhelming challenge of homeschooling.

One mum went viral after she came up with a daily schedule for her kids which contained six one-hour lessons followed by an after school club... which handily doubled as a chores list to keep the house tidy.

Among the lessons, a ‘food tech' session teaches the children "how to make me coffee", while a mechanical engineering class sees hem "assemble and operate a shark hoover".

At 11am, a PE lesson sees the kids running outside, very cleverly taking the rubbish out and recycling while they’re there.After a lunch break, geography is a ‘lesson in where floor items that they tossed there belong.’The chemistry class involves bleaching the toilet, and one final lesson of the day lets the kids study how washing up liquid can remove grease from dirty pans.