Smartphones are the smart choice for Moms during Back-To-School. 85% agree that the devices make the season less stressful, according to research from IAB & Meredith’s Parents Network, and mothers with preschool kids are biggest mobile phone users during this hectic time of year.

From the IAB release:

The research revealed that moms – whether smartphone users or not – experience high levels of stress during the busy back-to-school season (70% with smartphones vs. 66% without smartphones said they are as stressed or more stressed this year relative to last year). However, the majority of mothers armed with a connected mobile device (85%) said that their smartphone definitely eases the back-to-school strain, making this time of year less stressful overall. That sentiment held strong across a wide age range of moms (89% under 35 vs. 85% 35–44 vs. 83% over 45). Moreover, looking beyond the back-to-school timeframe, nearly nine in 10 smartphone-owning mothers of school-age kids (87%) admitted that having a smartphone has made being a mom easier for them.

The research found a sharp difference among smartphone user moms when it comes to their kids’ grade-level: moms with preschoolers are more apt to be mobile-intense, than those with older children:

• Over half of smartphone-owning moms with preschoolers (56%) use their smartphones to take photos and videos of their child, in comparison to mothers of elementary (44%), intermediate (46%) and high school students (33%)
• A greater number of smartphone-owning moms with preschool kids (48%) organize the family calendar on their mobile devices versus those with children at other grade levels (33% elementary vs. 32% intermediate vs. 23% high school)
• Smartphone-owning mothers with preschoolers are more likely to share info via social networks (41%) over their counterparts (32% elementary vs. 32% intermediate vs. 21% high school)