Maine Ranks #1 in 2020 Back to School Stress Index

Back-to-school season often comes with a rush of different emotions for parents. This year, like so much else, these emotions have been pushed to the extreme.

The usual anxieties about our children’s learning, friendships, and lunches are compounded by fears for their health — both physical and mental — in the age of COVID-19.

As classrooms started to open late this summer, there were — and continue to be — massive uncertainties over the safety of in-person learning, and how long it will last. If this has been causing you stress, you’re not alone.

Online learning platform and homework help community Brainly conducted a data study measuring instances of particular stress indicators relative to geographical location between July 18 and August 17. The Back to School Stress Index was created by measuring instances of particular stress indicators relative to geographical location and ranking them based on the search popularity within each state.

“This data study is proof that returning to school amidst the pandemic is changing nearly every aspect of families’ lives, not just for students and teachers but also for parents. As students struggle to work on homework assignments during these challenging times, there are many online tools and resources they can turn to for help such as Brainly,” says Patrick Quinn, Parenting Expert at Brainly.

The Top 10 States Most Stressed about the 2020-2021 back-to-school season were:

1. Maine
2. Montana
3. Mississippi
4. Indiana
5. Arkansas
6. Michigan
7. West Virginia
8. Wyoming
9. Idaho
10. Vermont

Quinn says: “We know this has been a difficult time for all parents, and it’s normal to feel more stressed than usual. All you can do is stay flexible and make the decisions that you think are right for your family, right now. And ask for help when you need it — we’re all in this together.”

For more info and the full results, go to brainly.com/insights/back-to-school-2020-stress-index.