Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sometime around May, something shifts for Long Island parents. One morning you glance at your phone and realize that between now and the last day of school, you’re expected to attend a spring fling, coordinate field day gear, buy a prom corsage, RSVP to three birthday parties, survive finals week alongside a teenager who sleeps until 2 p.m. — or a toddler who wakes up at 2 a.m. — label 14 pairs of camp socks with permanent marker, and, somewhere in there, actually exhale.
As a mom of two and as someone who works alongside Long Island families every day, I want to say plainly: This is a lot. Joy stacked on top of more joy, on top of logistics, on top of a full-time job and dinner and everything else — that’s not a celebration. That’s a stress response in a party hat.
Parental stress doesn’t stay tucked inside. It moves through families. The short-tempered answer at dinner, the argument over a permission slip, the exhaustion that makes it hard to be present for the moments you’ve been looking forward to — these are the quiet consequences of end-of-year overwhelm. And yet we’ve normalized it to the point where parents feel guilty for being overwhelmed.
That’s why the EAC Network’s Long Island Parenting Institute exists. LIPI has been offering free and low-cost workshops and classes to parents across Nassau and Suffolk counties for years — practical, judgment-free spaces to build skills, find community, and be reminded that the village is still out there. You just sometimes need an invitation. Last year, LIPI served nearly 750 parents across the region.
Its programming director, Kathryn Cannino, helps oversee programs on positive parenting, child development and strengthening family relationships. Asked about parents feeling stress this time of year, Cannino’s response was, “End-of-year stress is real, but parents don’t have to push through it alone, or perfectly. The families we work with often find that turning point is treating themselves with the same compassion they offer their loved ones — recognizing burnout is a signal to slow down and ask for support. Reaching out for support is a strength, and it also helps build the kind of connected village and supportive community that so many parents are longing for.”
So if you’re not the one managing the balancing act right now, look around. Someone near you probably is. Here are three simple ways to support parents in your community this season.
1. Be specific when you offer to help. “Let me know if you need anything” is easy to say, and almost impossible to act on. Instead, try, “I’m picking up dinner Friday — I’ll grab extra for you,” or “I can take the kids to Field Day.” Specific offers get accepted. Vague ones get politely declined by people who are too tired to ask.
2. Check in on the parent who seems like they’ve got it together. They don’t. At least not entirely. The parent who shows up at every event with snacks and a smile is often running on fumes by 9 p.m. Texting, “How are you actually doing?” can mean more than you know.
3. Say the quiet part out loud. We love our kids, and will do anything for them — but that doesn’t mean we have to do everything all the time, or that we have to do it silently and alone. When one parent names the overwhelm, others feel less alone in it. You don’t need to fix anything. Just being willing to say, “This time of year is genuinely hard” is a gift.
The LIPI team and community may be one of the best-kept secrets on Long Island, but the programs they offer are open to all. If you’re looking for your village, consider joining us for the six-week Common Sense Parenting workshop series in July. Learn more and register at eac-network.org/li-parenting-institute.
The end of the school year is supposed to feel celebratory — and it can, once we stop pretending the sprint to get there is effortless. So hang in there. Check on your people. Go to the concert. Cry a little at graduation. And when you’re ready to come up for air, we’ll be here.
Neela Mukherjee Lockel is president and chief executive officer of EAC Network and a Long Island mother of two.
