New Study from Genexa Outlines the Increasing Role that Digital Spaces Play for Parenting Advice
ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Genexa, the first clean medicine brand, founded by parents to transform the medicine aisle, today released its 2025 State of the Sick Day. A national YouGov survey commissioned by Genexa, of 1,000 U.S. mothers with children under 18, uncovered a major cultural shift in how families navigate the season, riddled by missed school days, late-night supply runs, and lost sleep due to upticks in cold and flu rates.
The study’s headline finding: Moms are increasingly turning to each other almost as frequently as they’re turning to doctors. Group chats, not search engines or telehealth platforms, have become a “first stop” for symptom checks, emotional support, and real-life hacks.
THE MODERN VILLAGE IS A GROUP CHAT
Most moms in the survey seek support when their kids are sick (67%). Of these, a large proportion turn to their phones, relying on one-on-one texting (82%), group chats with other moms (37%) and/or with family members or friends (46%). These threads—spanning mom friends, school parents, and extended family—act as a modern micro-support system, replacing the playground networks and neighborhood drop-bys of previous generations.
“The group chat has become the new waiting room — faster, funnier, and always open,” said Carmen Graham, CMO at Genexa. “At any given moment, parents are navigating online forums, school WhatsApp channels, personal friend group chats, and even social media DMs with complete strangers in the hope of finding a parenting win. This is especially true on a sick day, as this study proves.”
The study shows that the “village” that once might have been sourced through the proximity of family and neighbors is expanding thanks to digital tools.
KEY FINDINGS
Beyond venting, group chats serve as real-time decision-making engines. Many moms say they rely on other moms “most of the time” for advice during sick days. Within minutes, they compare symptoms, swap time-saving hacks, and share quick reassurance. By the time a doctor is involved, the emotional processing and preliminary triage have already occurred.
Genexa’s findings reveal cultural and behavioral shifts among moms:
- 58% of moms worked at home while their child is sick. Further, a staggering 70% of respondents are depleting their own paid sick days when their child is sick.
- Text first, telehealth second: 55% of moms are still turning to their pediatricians for advice when their kids are sick. But as many as 45% are still consulting their peer groups first. One mom shared her group chats are “More relatable than calling the doctor for every little thing.”
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40% of moms are juggling working pressure as well as at-home pressure, processing frustrations digitally with peers first – not partners.
- Peak texting windows align with caregiving stress moments: morning school prep and managing sick kids during work hours.
Genexa stands by the importance of the medical community as its survey results bridge the gap between professional advice and parental confidence. Genexa’s Infant and Kids’ Pain and Fever products, made with real medicine that works and 0% artificial additives, have ingredient profiles that are preferred by pediatricians when compared to Tylenol’s comparable top-selling products’ ingredient profiles.
“Genexa was founded on the principle that parents deserve better choices – products with ingredient profiles that have been validated by pediatricians and are subsequently trusted by other parents. As a brand founded by two parents, understanding the ways moms are communicating and sourcing the products they use to treat their families is paramount,” says CEO and co-founder David Johnson. “Moms are the superheroes of sick days, and by better understanding their needs, we can better serve all our customers.”
About Genexa:
Founded with the goal of revolutionizing the medicine aisle, Genexa makes medicines with the same effective active ingredients as leading brands, but without artificial additives including artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and dyes. Made in the USA with globally sourced non-GMO ingredients, Genexa medicines are certified gluten-free and free of the top 9 common allergens. As a Certified B Corp, Genexa is leading the clean medicine movement and setting a new standard for what goes into children’s and family health products.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Stanley Walker
Rachel Kay Public Relations,
A FINN Partners Company
310-435-2811
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