Summer Childcare Challenges Put Employee Benefits in the Spotlight

The adage that summertime is here and the living is easy doesn’t always ring true for working parents.

The summer months often add stress for parents as they navigate school closures and differing hours of activities and camps. Many parents are also left filling in the gaps by trying — and struggling — to find childcare. 

“For working parents, summer tends to be a stressful time for parents,” said Dan Figurski, president for employers and champions at KinderCare, an early childhood education and childcare services provider, in Nashville. “There is an always-on mentality that increases during the summer as many working parents attempt to juggle heavy workloads, demanding expectations, and long hours coupled with multiple activities for children and camp schedules that don’t align with the average workday.” 

Article: As Summer Heats Up, So Do the Employee Benefits

A study of more than 2,000 U.S. adults from childcare provider Bright Horizons found that 85% of parents of children younger than 18 are being “kept awake at night” as they think about their children’s care and schedule during the summer months, with working parents saying they are likely to lose sleep over these issues. The study found that 67% of working parents are filled with a growing sense of dread when summer approaches.

That stress creates an opportunity for employers to step in with support, flexibility, and benefits, experts say. 

“Employers have an opportunity to help alleviate stress for parents and offer access to child care that meets families’ unique summer needs,” Figurski said.

Some employers offer specific summertime benefits for working parents. AT&T, for instance, has a summer camp on campus for employees’ kids. The company first launched a 10-week on-site summer camp at its Dallas headquarters last summer for children ages 4 through 12. Employees were able to access the program for as low as $15 per day for one child or $25 per day for multiple children. The camp was expanded this year to the company’s Atlanta office. 

The stress working parents experience during the summer months was the catalyst for AT&T’s summer camp, said Ryan Mattiza, director of benefits at AT&T in Dallas.  

“We were really focused on listening to our employees and then bringing a solution to life that really addressed the issue, the need, that they brought forward to us,” Mattiza said.

Time to Tout Benefits 

But offering specific summertime childcare benefits isn’t the only way employers can help. Summer is also an ideal time for employers to remind employees about the benefits they already offer that can support working parents, experts say.

“For the employers that currently offer year-round benefits, summer is a great moment for them to remind their employees about the childcare benefits already available to them,” he said.  

According to the 2026 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, 5% of employers offer a subsidized child care center or program, 4% offer a nonsubsidized childcare center (company-affiliated onsite or near-site center), and 12% offer childcare referral services providing that provide employees with the names of childcare providers. More than a quarter (27%) allow employees to bring their children to work during an emergency.

Specialty Credential: Total Rewards 

Beyond childcare-specific offerings, benefits such as flexibility, remote work options, paid time off, and mental health resources can also help ease the pressures working parents face during the summer months. Even small amounts of flexibility can make it easier for employees to juggle camp schedules, childcare gaps and family responsibilities without sacrificing productivity.

Although many employers often have these benefits in place, many employees are unaware of the resources available to them. That’s why communicating about existing offerings that can help working parents should be an important priority for employers. 

“Communication is definitely something we focus on,” Mattiza said. “It’s about ensuring that employees know about all the different resources available to them.” 

AT&T communicates about available benefits offerings in several ways, he said, from monthly newsletters to its robust AT&T benefits center website, where employees can learn about their benefits and how to use them.  

Ensuring employees understand the benefits available to them is an important strategy not only during the summer months for working parents, but for all employees throughout the year, he said. 

“We want our employees to know about the great solutions we have available to them that can help them,” Mattiza said.