If you’re a stressed parent struggling to deal with financial and emotional stressors, your struggles are not unrecognised, and this new advisory has declared a parent’s well-being as a ‘critical health priority.’
US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy is a 47-year-old father of two, and he speaks on the important role parents play in society.
“The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society,” Murthy writes.
“We know that the wellbeing of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the wellbeing of their children.”
According to the advisory, parents are overworked and also under financial pressure to keep up with the cost of childcare.
“Demands from both work and child caregiving have come at the cost of quality time with one’s partner, sleep and parental leisure time,” reads the advisory.
“Parental mental health can influence the emotional climate, responsiveness and consistency of caregiving at home, all of which are crucial for a child’s emotional and cognitive development,” the report reads.
It also touches on the mental health of the 63 million parents of children in the US and how this could impact the welfare of their children.
“Children of parents with mental health conditions may face heightened risks, including for symptoms of depression and anxiety and for earlier onset, recurrence and prolonged functional impairment from mental health conditions.”
A 2023 survey of adults from the American Psychological Association found 33% of parents reported high levels of stress.
When pressed on what was to blame for the reported high levels of stress, some of the biggest stressors for parents included financial worries, concerns over children’s safety, anxiety over the scarcity of time away from work and fears about minors’ unhealthy relationships to social media and technology.
“Nearly 70% of parents say parenting is now more difficult than it was 20 years ago, with children’s use of technology and social media as the top two cited reasons,” states the report.
