Canary Connected Parents Report

For working parents, it can be particularly difficult to navigate the delicate balance between career growth and quality family time. With the new school year upon us, many families will be returning to more demanding fall schedules filled with important events, putting even more pressure on parents to be present for things like after-school activities and difficult homework assignments.

With this in mind, we partnered with YouGov to create our Connected Parent report to better understand these modern-day challenges. The data paints a clear picture that parents across the nation are stuck between a rock and a hard place, striving to attain a balance between their careers and personal lives. From being there for all the the daily life moments to having an eye on the kids when working late, parents often struggle to maintain a consistent connection to, and understanding of what’s happening at home.

While technology has transformed the way we access information, it has also created a new set of workplace expectations, often encouraging and sometimes requiring that employees be plugged into their jobs around the clock. We created Canary to seamlessly bridge this emerging gap between home and away – helping parents to stay “present” in their kids lives no matter their location. As a smarter, more accessible, everyday form of security than has traditionally been available, Canary helps families stay connected and allows parents to always stay in the know, no matter where they may go.  

Read on to better understand how other parents deal with the “home alone” challenge. 

Missing Important Moments

25% of parents are out while their kids are at home for at least 2 hours per day.

According to Care.com, the average annual cost of a nanny for one child is $28,905. While the length of time may vary, exactly half of U.S. parents say they leave their child home without a parent or guardian, with 1 in 7 parents leaving their child unsupervised for potentially six or more hours per day. That’s enough time for an adventurous child to crayon an entire room, or for a teenager to binge-watch half a Netflix series.

58% of parents can’t pick up their child from school, while a third don’t have time to help their children with their homework.

Working parents spend an increasing amount of time away from home. While many companies continue to preach flexible work arrangements for their employees, many parents aren’t able to participate in important activities with their children during the week.

Unsupervised Activities

More than a quarter of parents worry that their kids are visiting “off-limits” websites when left unsupervised at home

Parents aren’t just missing out on those important milestones when they’re away from home, but also losing sight of and worry about what their child is up to while unsupervised. More than 4 in 10 fear that their kids might leave home appliances, like an oven, on after use. Another 28% worry that their children are out of the house, while claiming to be home.

Half of parents would drive home if they didn’t hear back from their kids, no matter how far away they are.

With these scenarios in the back of parents’ minds, worry is never far away. Many parents would go to extreme lengths in order to know what their children are up to if they didn’t hear back.

Connecting With A Camera

58% of parents would use a connected camera like Canary to catch up with their children while they’re away from home.

To spend more time with their children, almost a quarter (23%) of parents said they would quit their job, but that option isn’t feasible for the majority of families. Instead, 40% of parents said they would like regular updates on what their child is doing and more than a quarter (27%) of parents said they would like to set up a tracker on their child to always know their whereabouts: that’s where Canary comes in.

For all the technology and access we now have it our disposal, it’s clear that many gadgets are increasing our need to stay connected to work while reducing the connection we crave to family and loved ones. Canary is designed to keep you informed about your home and loved ones, and empowered to take action if there’s ever an issue.

Has Canary changed the way you interact with your family? Are there any features you’d like to see that would make it even easier to connect with your kids when you’re not there?

We’d love to hear what you have to say, so let us know in the comments below.

We also have a special back-to-school offer for all you parents out there—head to canary.is to save $20 on Canary and Canary Flex for a limited time.