Parenting Evidence Review 2025-26
Published yesterday, our new Parenting Evidence Review 2025-26 finds poverty, health and wellbeing, and early years, childcare and hobbies as some of biggest issues facing parents and carers in Scotland.
The review highlights the key issues facing parents and carers in Scotland published in research over 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The review analyses 26 reports, encompassing the views and experiences of over 20,000 parents and carers from at least 31 local authorities in Scotland.
The review found that:
- Poverty remains a persistent challenge for families. Whilst social security payments and measures provide relief, they don’t go far enough to tackle the scale of the problem.
- Parents and carers frequently report stress, anxiety, isolation and pressure to meet societal expectations of parenting.
- Access to early years provision, childcare and children’s hobbies play a significant role in shaping parenting experiences.
Evidence within the review includes experiences of:
- Single parents,
- black or minority ethnic parents,
- disabled parents or parents with disabled children,
- carers,
- parents with care experience,
- parents who have had a child put into the care system
- and foster parents.
Published in the context of the recent Scottish Parliament elections, the research comes at a critical time. The review, which gives an updated picture from the 2024 publication, highlights poverty, health and childcare as having persistent impacts on families. Despite policy interventions such as the Scottish Governments previous commitment to Whole Family Support and tackling child poverty, the evidence highlights the need for further action to be taken to ensure families across Scotland receive the support they need.
