• Working parents are split on having to take leave separately from their partner to cover childcare – 53 % have had to, 46 % have not
• 62 % of primary school parents have had to take leave separate from their partner to cover childcare
• Almost six in ten( 59 %) parents in Wales have had to take leave separately from their partner to cover childcare. So too have 58 % of parents in the South East and 57 % of parents in the North East
• 59 % of parents with household incomes of £ 50,000 to £ 99,000 have had to take leave separately from their partners, as have 61 % of parents aged 35 to 44 and 57 % of disabled parents
• Almost a quarter( 23 %) of parents have had arguments with their partner over childcare during the school holidays
• More than a quarter( 28 %) of parents of children aged 4 to 9 have argued over childcare in the school holidays
• More than a quarter( 27 %) of parents of children with SEN have argued with their partner because of school holidays
• Parents from the North East( 29 %), London( 28 %) and the East Midlands( 27 %) are more likely to have had arguments over childcare than parents in other parts of the UK
Image: istock. com / SolStock
Image: istock. com / EllenMoran
16 THE NATIONAL PARENT SURVEY 2026