Parent Survival — Parent Experience Survey

Section A · 6 questions · ~2 minutes

Let's start with you.

We want to understand who you are and your family situation. Everything is anonymous unless you choose to share your email at the end.

What is your role in your family?*

What best describes your family situation right now?*

Where do you live in the UK?

Helps us understand how support availability varies across regions.

Region

Area type

What is your current work situation?*

How many adults are actively involved in parenting this child day to day?*

This shapes how we structure your plan around consistency between adults.

Approximate annual household income?(optional)

Helps us understand whether financial pressure shapes the challenges you face.

🌿

Save your progress

The survey takes around 20 minutes. Pop your email in now and we'll save your responses as you go — so you won't lose anything if life interrupts.

Optional — skip this and continue without saving. We'll ask again at the end.

Section B

Section B · 4 questions · ~3 minutes

Tell us about your children.

Add all your children below, then tell us which one this plan is for. Your 12-week plan is built around one child at a time — this keeps the support focused and genuinely useful. If you have more than one child with different needs, you can start a second plan for them later.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?*

B1b

Which child is this plan for?*

🎯 Every question from here on is about this child specifically. Your plan will be built entirely around their age, temperament, challenges and needs. If you have other children who need support too, we capture that separately — but the plan itself focuses on one child at a time.

Add your children above and the options will appear here.

B1c

Are any of your other children also struggling with something you'd like us to be aware of?(optional)

This doesn't create a separate plan — it helps us write your plan with awareness of your whole family. For example, if your 4-year-old is also struggling with sleep, we'll factor that into how we talk about bedtime in your main plan.

You can start a second focused plan for another child at any time — once you've completed this one, or whenever you're ready.

Does the child you're most concerned about have any diagnosed, suspected or additional needs?*

How would you describe this child's general temperament?

Select all that feel true. This shapes the tone and approach of your plan more than almost anything else.

What type of school or setting does this child currently attend?

Section C

Section C · 8 questions · ~6 minutes

The challenge — in depth.

This is the heart of the survey. All questions in this section are about the child you selected in Section B. We go deep on their specific challenge — what it looks like, how long it's been happening, and what the pattern is. Please be as honest as you can. There's no judgement here.

Which of the following challenges is your family currently dealing with?*

Select all that apply. We know it's often more than one.

Which of these is your main focus right now?*

This becomes the focus of your 12-week plan. Choose the one you most want to tackle first.

Answer C1 first — your options will appear here.

What specifically is happening?*

Choose the option that feels closest to what you're dealing with.

Answer C2 first.

Describe what actually happens.

This is the most valuable thing you can share with us. Think about a recent difficult moment. Describe it as specifically as you can — what time of day, what triggered it, what your child did, what you did, and how it ended. The more honest and specific you are, the more useful your plan will be.

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How long has this been a significant problem — and is it getting better or worse?

How long?

Trajectory?

Was there anything that seemed to trigger or start this period of difficulty?

Select all that apply.

How is this affecting your family?*

Select all that apply.

How is this affecting you personally?

Rate each from 1 (not at all) to 5 (severely).

My stress levels

Not at allSeverely

My confidence as a parent

Very confidentReally struggling

My patience day-to-day

Plenty of patienceConstantly stretched

My relationship with this child

Really strongVery strained

My relationship with my partner

Really strongVery strained

Section D

Section D · 5 questions · ~3 minutes

Your child right now.

Still focused on the same child. We spend a lot of time talking about what's hard — this section is about who they actually are, and what's already working. The best plans build on existing strengths, not just problems.

What does a good day look like with this child?

Tell us about a day — or even just a moment — when things felt good between you. What was happening? What did you do? What did they do?

What is one thing that almost always works with this child?

It might be small. A tone of voice, an activity, a phrase that helps them reset. What's the one tool in your toolkit you'd keep even if we changed everything else?

What does this child need most from you right now?

Select up to three.

What do you think this child is trying to communicate through this behaviour or difficulty?

All behaviour is communication. What do you think is underneath what you're seeing? There are no wrong answers.

Or select the closest option:

How would you describe your relationship with this child right now, overall?*

Section E

Section E · 4 questions · ~3 minutes

What you've already tried.

This is evidence-building. What real parents have tried, what helped and what didn't, directly shapes the intelligence behind every plan we build.

What professional support have you sought for this challenge?

For each one, tell us how helpful it was.

GP or family doctor

CAMHS (NHS child mental health)

Private child or family therapist

Paediatrician

School SENCO or pastoral support

Educational psychologist

Private ADHD / autism assessment

Parenting programme (Triple P, Incredible Years, etc.)

Parent coach or mentor

Speech & language therapy or occupational therapy

What self-directed support have you tried?

Parenting books

Parenting apps

Online forums (Mumsnet, Reddit, Facebook groups)

Parenting podcasts

Social media parenting content

Advice from friends or family

Online courses or webinars

Of everything you've tried, what has helped the most?

Be as specific as you can. "When I started giving a five-minute warning before asking him to stop screens, the meltdowns reduced by about half" is more useful than "warnings helped." Even small things count.

What has stopped you from getting more help?

Select all that apply. Your honesty helps us understand the real barriers parents face.

Section F

Section F · 7 questions · ~3 minutes

You as a parent.

These questions are about you — your history, your triggers, what depletes and restores you. This is the data that makes parental wellbeing plans genuinely useful rather than generic.

How would you describe your natural parenting approach?

How aligned are you with your co-parent or partner on how to handle this?

1 = completely aligned, 5 = we almost never agree

Completely alignedAlmost never agree

Thinking about your own upbringing — do you recognise this challenge from your own childhood?(optional)

We ask because parenting patterns often have roots in our own experience. Answer only if you feel comfortable.

What tends to make things worse for you personally on a difficult day?

Select all that apply.

What tends to help you reset when things are hard?

Select all that apply. Plans need to include realistic recovery strategies.

How much social support do you have around you as a parent?

1 = strong network of support, 5 = quite isolated

Strong networkQuite isolated

How would you rate your own mental wellbeing right now?(optional)

1 = I'm doing well, 5 = I'm really struggling

Doing wellReally struggling

If you're struggling significantly with your own mental health, please speak to your GP. You can also contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 or text SHOUT to 85258 (free, 24/7).

Section G

Section G · 5 questions · ~4 minutes

What works — the intelligence core.

This section is where we build the evidence base that makes Parent Survival different from every other parenting resource. Real outcomes from real parents. Please take a moment with these questions. Your experience is genuinely valuable.

Has anything made a meaningful difference to this challenge, even temporarily?*

What's the single most useful thing you've learned about parenting this specific child?

Not general parenting wisdom — something specific to this child. What do you know about how they work that you wish you'd known earlier?

What's the best parenting advice you've ever received?

From anyone — a book, a friend, a therapist, a stranger at the school gate. What actually stuck with you?

If you could tell another parent facing your main challenge one thing — what would it be?

This becomes part of our community wisdom. We may use it anonymously in guidance and plans for other parents facing the same challenge.

What do you wish someone had told you earlier?

About this challenge, about this child, or about parenting in general.

Section H

Section H · 5 questions · ~2 minutes

What kind of support would help you.

This shapes the format, depth and delivery of your 12-week plan — and the ongoing platform we're building.

What kind of support would help you most right now?*

Select up to three.

Have you followed a structured parenting programme before?

How much time could you realistically commit each week?*

How do you prefer to receive guidance?

Complete this sentence in your own words:*

"In 12 weeks, I want to feel..."

This is your personal north star for the plan. We return to this sentence in week 1 and week 12.

Section I

Section I · 4 questions · ~1 minute

Almost done.

You've been incredibly generous with your time and honesty. A few final questions and you're done.

How did you find out about Parent Survival?

Would you be willing to take part in a 20-minute follow-up research conversation?(optional)

Purely optional. If yes, we'll only get in touch to schedule something that works for you.

Your email address*

We need this to send your personalised 12-week plan and to let you know when your beta access is ready. We will never share or sell your email.

Your email will only be used for this. We will never sell or share your data.

Before you finish — a few things to confirm.*

Tick all three boxes above to submit your survey.

Thank you for sharing your experience.