Canadian Mothers' Mental Load Peaks During Back-to-School Season

Toronto, Canada, August 24, 2026 — As families prepare for another school year, a new survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of GreenShield shows the significant and often invisible mental burden Canadian mothers carry every day—and the pressure only intensifies during the back-to-school season. When asked to compare their mental load during the back-to-school period to other times of the year, 68% of Canadian mothers say it is higher. 

The Daily Reality of Mental Load: Mothers Carry the Majority of Family Responsibilities

Overall, almost all (92%) mothers agree that they feel responsible for keeping track of most family-related tasks. More than eight in 10 (86%) say they feel like they are “always on” when it comes to family responsibilities. Three-quarters of Canadian moms say they are primarily responsible for scheduling and planning (75%) or remembering important dates or tasks (74%) in their household. Seven in ten (71%) are primarily responsible for coordinating school-related tasks, and 54% say they are primarily responsible for the emotional support of their children – 43% say it’s shared equally with someone else at home.

These responsibilities go far beyond daily chores. In a typical week, mothers spend four times more time worrying about their family’s needs than focusing on their own mental health. Nearly all mothers (96%) spend at least one hour per week thinking about or worrying about family needs, and almost a quarter (24%) report spending more than 10 hours per week doing so.

Children’s Mental Health Weighs Heavily on Mothers

Concerns about children’s well-being are a major component of mothers’ mental load. Nearly three-quarters (74%) agree they spend a lot of time worrying about their children’s mental health, and 86% are concerned about the impact of online content and social media on their children's well-being during the school year. 

These responsibilities related to household planning, emotional support and family logistics, often come at the expense of their own mental and physical health. 

Emotional Impacts: Overwhelmed, Burned Out and Anxious

The mental load carried by mothers is having a measurable impact on their well-being. Nearly two-thirds (65%) report feeling overwhelmed often or very often, while 55% say they experience burnout (24% very often/31% often). More than half (52%) report regular feelings of anxiety (23% very often/29% often). Still, 71% have avoided or delayed seeking mental health support, most often due to time (44%) or cost (43%).

Millennial Mothers Carry the Heaviest Mental Load

While mothers across all generations report carrying a significant mental load, the burden is particularly pronounced among Millennials, who are most likely to be raising school-aged children while balancing work and family responsibilities. Seven in ten Millennial mothers (70%) describe their overall mental load as high, compared with 61% of Gen X mothers and 49% of Gen Z mothers. Millennial mothers are also the most likely to say they feel responsible for keeping track of most family-related tasks (97%) and to feel like they are “always on” when it comes to family responsibilities (90%).

Mothers Face Growing Expectations and Complexity

These pressures are reflected in how mothers view the demands placed on them today. More than nine in ten Millennial mothers agree that managing children's needs has become more complex in recent years (93%) and that it is difficult for mothers to prioritize their own mental health (92%). Millennial mothers are also most likely to say society does not fully recognize the invisible work mothers do (94%) and that mothers today face more pressure than previous generations (90%), highlighting the unique challenges facing mothers in their peak caregiving years.

Gen Z Mothers Report the Highest Level of Burnout 

While Gen Z mothers are less likely than Millennials or Gen X to describe their overall mental load as high, they report the highest levels of burnout, anxiety and overwhelm of any generation. Nearly three-quarters (74%) experience burnout often or very often, compared with 56% of Millennials and 44% of Gen X and six in 10 (61%) experience anxiety often or very often. 

Gen Z reports that the back-to-school season compounds these pressures: 73% of Gen Z mothers say their mental load increases during the back-to-school period compared with 68% of Millennials and 65% of Gen X.

Personal Well-being Often Takes a Back Seat

Many mothers report sacrificing their own well-being to meet family needs, particularly during the back-to-school season. More than half say they frequently (very often/often) sacrifice the following aspects of well-being in order to prioritize their family’s needs:
•    Time for themselves (56%)
•    Sleep (51%)
•    Social life (54%)
•    Mental health (55%) 
•    Physical health (55%)
•    Career opportunities (38%)

An overwhelming 97% agree that mothers often put their family's needs ahead of their own mental health. Additionally, 90% agree it is difficult for mothers to prioritize their own well-being. 

Barriers Prevent Mothers From Accessing Support

One in five mothers (21%) say caregiving responsibilities prevent them from seeking support, while 20% say they do not know where to access appropriate services. Additionally, 17% say services are difficult to access, and 12% report not having access to support that reflects their identity, lived experiences, or needs. This rises to 32% among those who identify as members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

When asked how important the following would be to removing the barrier to seeking mental health support, Canadian mothers identified:
•    Flexible options that fit their schedules (92%)
•    Affordable mental health services (89%)
•    Easy and timely access to care (89%)
•    Clear information about how to access services (88%)
•    Support that accommodates caregiving responsibilities (childcare, dependent care) (84%)
•    A therapist who reflects their identity, experience, and specific needs (83%)

A Call for Greater Recognition and Support

As back-to-school demands continue to grow, these findings underscore the need for greater recognition of the invisible responsibilities mothers shoulder and for mental health supports that are affordable, accessible, and designed to fit the realities of modern family life.

About the Study

The survey by Ipsos was conducted July 2-8, 2026, on behalf of GreenShield. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadian Mothers aged 18-64, with children under 18 in the household, was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects the population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adult mothers been in this age group been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2900
[email protected]

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