In Italy, summer is not the same for all people. Three months of closed schools – one of the longest breaks in Europe – who put families and communities to the tough test. Almost 1 in 2 family reports difficulties of girls, boys and teenagers in the school recovery. 3 out of 10 note loss of skills or relational worsening.
These are just some of the results of the Survey launched in July 2025 by Weworld – humanitarian organization active in over 20 countries – which together with the duo Shit mom – unknown and ironic dissemination project on maternity – he asked Italian families to tell how they live this season. More than 3,000 responses and almost 1,000 testimonies make up a collective story – that can be found in full on the Weworld site -,, made of labors, but also of proposals that look to the future. A starting point to open a real dialogue with the institutions, and rethink the school time, starting from the direct experience of boys, girls, families and the wider educating community.
The long summer break is an empty time that falls almost entirely on families, transforming itself into a daily exercise of balances between costs, holidays and work. But it is not just an organizational question: it is a matter of rights, well -being and equal opportunities.
When schools close, the conciliation between family management and work commitments becomes a concrete challenge for many Italian families. One in 20 parent It even comes to renounce job opportunities or to abandon the job to deal with the management of summer time.
In this scenario, inequalities are amplified: The summer centers represent an too expensive option for many families, and the accessible alternatives are few. Thus, for many girls, boys and teenagers, the summer risks transform into a suspended time: without safe spaces to grow, learn and relate, they increase isolation and vulnerability. The situation is even more critical in fragile contexts – where educational and recreational opportunities are scarce – or when disability is present in the family.
Based on the responses received – for the majority by women – the highest price pays the highest price, on which the load of the care work continues to fall out of disproportionate.
«I don’t work because I didn’t have big help I had to leave it. A more broken school period, a full time during the year and a school offer guaranteed also in August would allow me to return to work not only for an economic profit, but also to avoid the burnout of which I and many parents suffer ».
While, More than 4 out of 5 families register daughters and children at the summer centerthis possibility varies very much depending on where you live, the composition of the family and the presence of children with disabilities. In the south, there are 3 out of 5.
The average expenditure is approximately 530 euros per child or daughter For the whole summer, for an inscription that generally covers 4 and a half weeksin the face of a school break that lasts 13 or 14 weeks. To this expense are also added other costs to cover the hole of the summer centers, such as babysitter or other educational figures.
Families with sons or daughters with disabilities who choose the summer centers are less, about 7 out of 10due to access difficulties or for an offer of inclusive services still insufficient. Those who cannot resort to this solution has a more complex picture in terms of spending. In these cases, The expense of: 460 euros is higher than the national average (which instead stands at 338 euros per child) Of those who choose alternative solutions to summer centers because probably those who have children and daughters with disabilities must look for specialized figures.
Socialize also in summer
Being with friends and playing together is essential for the growth of boys and girls and teenagers. It is not just about having fun, but also of learning, confronting equal and feeling good. But during the summer, many minors in Italy lose this possibility. Overall, More than 4 out of 10 families (42%) They say that boys and girls have not been able to maintain relationships with friends during the summer. If families have daughters and children with disabilities, these obstacles often add up, amplifying distances, and the data rises to Almost 6 out of 10.
“It is always difficult to be able to maintain relationships with companions during the summer. Unique children suffer more summer loneliness. In September it is often all to be reconstructed, when they are small if months pass they ‘forget’ about friendship “.
Loss of skills
The long summer break is reflected not only on well -being, but also on the learning of boys and girls. Those who do not have access to educational opportunities, even during the summer, are also exposed to long -term consequences such as: rejection, school abandonment, increase in educational poverty and the so -called Summer Learning Loss. Almost 1 family out of 2 (46%) reports difficulties of their children and daughters in the resumption of the school in September, while about 1 family out of 3 (31%) observes a loss of school skills or a worsening in behavior and social relationships.
“I believe that so many months at home “without school” are not good for our children. There are the homes of the holidays is true, but let’s take as an example the case of my daughter, who loves to go to school and is very good: in recent months she has little desire to do her homework because it is not very stimulated and has uninhabited the school context“.
The results of this survey are not only a photograph of the existing, but an invitation to action. Voices of families have been collected that tell a reality that can no longer be ignored: Summer is not just a school break, it is a period that amplifies inequalities. With the campaign, together with Mother of shit, “We restore the calendar” – and the petition that has already collected over 75,000 signatures – WEWORLD proposes to Redesign school timeto make it closer to the real life of families and guarantee the rights of boys and girls, without expanding inequalities. The collected data are used to build policies, to pretend that the reality of those who live these difficulties will finally be listened to every year. It is a question of rights, of social justice, of not leaving any person on the margins.
