UAE mums weigh in: Are parent WhatsApp groups a lifeline or a back-to-school headache?

Schools are about to open and the WhatsApp groups have been buzzing.

Did you buy the textbooks?

My child wants this stationery. I can’t find it. Where can we get it?

“He doesn’t want to go to school, I am so worried….”

The list goes on. As Dubai-based Maneka Ghosh, a mother of three, notes: She left groups, as it was all too overwhelming. Too much panic, stress, and moreover, constant daily battles. “There were such unnecessary fights that I thought that I was better off without it.” They tried adding her back thrice, but she left every time. “No, it gets too much,” she says firmly.

As she explains, parents tend to juggle schedules, deadlines and a stream of school updates, just through WhatsApp groups. No doubt, they do have their benefits of quick communication and a sense of community as her friends tell her, they are also a source of stress, misinformation and constant notifications.

Dubai-based Muriel D’Sa, Radio Presenter at Talk 100.3, describes them as “a modern-day village for parents, acting as a digital hub for all things school-related.” She adds, “They really shine when they're used for quick, helpful information you might otherwise miss. Need a reminder that it's a half-day? Forgot about the school play starting early? A quick check-in can save the day. They're also perfect for solving those last-minute dilemmas, like when your child is stuck on a tough homework problem or you need help tracking down a lost lunchbox.”

D’Sa emphasises the organising power of these groups: “Planning a carpool for a field trip or a surprise party for a teacher becomes a breeze with everyone connected. Ultimately, it's about navigating this digital landscape carefully, but when used well, they're a fantastic support system where parents can look out for one another.”

Sarrah Khilawala from Sharjah sees it more as a boon, if used selectively.

As she warns, don’t be a part of all groups, for starters. “I’m a member of just a few, mainly parents from other schools in my area. We use them to talk about things like summer activities or plan playdates for children from the same community,” she explains.

Noting from what she has seen, she says that there are so many WhatsApp groups, and young parents often create them to exchange tips, like books for kids who are in the same school. “For example, I didn’t know there was a uniform supplier in Sharjah charging half the usual price until I found out through a WhatsApp group,” she says.

Such groups are also helpful for sharing lunchbox recipes or arranging pick-ups and drop-offs. Of course, it’s important to draw the line and keep messages to the point, locations, school information, or necessary logistics, as she says. “I live in Sharjah and my kids go to school in Dubai, so these groups help me learn more from other parents. We also discuss curriculums and how schools teach certain subjects,” she says.

Similarly, Kerry Smith, Head of Membership at the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (BCCD) notes the practical benefits: “It is helpful for reminders like dress up days, teachers and TAs birthdays, revised term dates. Important dates like shows, sports day and swim galas. Uniform reminders when regular uniform can change to PE kit for the warmer months.”

Moreover, these groups are useful at transitional periods, explains Dr. Soumaya Askri, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Canadian University Dubai. They’re helpful at the beginning of an academic year, during the points of transition, whether in schools or universities, when there is a genuine need for quick and practical information. “Clarifications on timetables, upcoming events, extra-activities, deadlines can be shared instantly, helping families feel connected and supported.”

Even helpful tools can become a source of stress. They can turn into a digital burden. There’s the constant stream of notifications, like the ‘good mornings’, memes and off-topic chatter that bury important messages, explains D'Sa. “The drama can be a real issue, too, seeing photos of 'perfect' lunchboxes or posts about kids' achievements can create a sense of competition, making you feel like your own child is falling behind.”

Smith echoes this sentiment, especially in social sub-groups. When there are class parties and each child has to bring in a party food, your phone is pinging constantly with 24 parents sharing who is bringing apples and who is bringing cheese sticks. “If you mute the conversation, you can miss some updates in the chaos!”

Kanessa Muluneh, a serial entrepreneur feels strongly against it, owing to her own experiences. “I’m not a fan of it. One of the many reasons we are going to home-school kids, is because the groups are very judgmental. You don’t have much space to express what you think, simply, because there’s a system that the whole class follows. So I don’t like it, but I feel judged sometimes being in a group with mums.”

And so, the problem is when the groups move beyond the important updates. The large volume of messages can make it hard to filter what is relevant, and the digital fatigue sets in. Some, might see it as constant engagement, others might just get stressed out by it.

Dubai-based mum Sumit Augustine shares her own example. “ “One of the examples was the notebook bifurcation information that was shared on the class WhatsApp group in my son's old school last year,  I had the horror when the class teacher shared the notebook bifurcation just a day before the school opened,  completely missed out on reading the message properly and ended up mixing my son's notebooks. And he had to use his notebooks for the whole academic year.”

Moreover, it’s a free space for misinformation to spread freely as D’Sa explains. A simple rumour can quickly escalate through the ‘telephone game’, getting more exaggerated with each message, until it’s unrecognisable. “Simple health issues can also become exaggerated health scares, causing unnecessary panic among the group.”

And so, there is a need for fact checks and verifications, explains Dr. Askri. “Even when shared with good intentions, such messages can cause unnecessary confusion or anxiety. This highlights the importance of having schools and universities remain the primary, official source of information, while parents’ groups play a supportive role rather than a leading one.”

For instance, Krysia McKechnie, a parent rep from Dubai shares, that while she thinks the groups are good for disseminating important or time sensitive information, they can very often become overwhelming, especially as a lot of the information can be repeated across different groups. :I also think schools lean far too heavily on these groups and parents reps to manage them when the schools themselves should be the ones in charge of communication, not parents. Furthermore, they can easily become toxic if one parent or a group of parents continually complain. On a positive note, they do allow parents to access information quickly, happening today" so they can be useful."

So to navigate the minefield, parents and professionals have a couple of suggestions:

Finding a balanced approach

When it comes to preferred modes of connection, experts recommend combining official communication with smaller, curated groups.

Combine official channels with small, curated groups for best results.

Official school platforms (portals or apps) should be the main source for:

Important announcements

Documents and updates

Smaller, focused chat groups with a few trusted parents work well for:

Structured communication methods such as:

Class representative–managed groups are better than large, open-ended WhatsApp chats for:

Verified updates