For those parents debilitated by the stress of raising kids and caring for their families, U.S. Surgeon General Dr.
Vivek Murthy sees you . Murthy released an advisory on August 28 declaring parental mental health an urgent public health issue. According to the Department of Health and Human Services , advisories are reserved for “significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action.
” “Being a dad is the toughest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” Murthy wrote in the advisory. In his foreword, Murthy emphasizes that parenting is both integral for the health of children and the health of society, but the stresses of parents are being passed onto their children. And now, parents are experiencing new stressors on top of the already daunting tasks of protecting their children from harm, managing finances, and navigating the uncertainties teenagers face through adolescence.
“Chasing these unreasonable expectations has left many families feeling exhausted, burned out, and perpetually behind,” Murthy says. After speaking to many families, experiencing the difficulties of parenthood himself, and considering the compounding factors of economic and technological uncertainties on top of parenthood’s own stress, Murthy writes he felt compelled to put forth this advisory, which has the power to put policy and programs in motion to support American parents. Parents contend with unreasonable expectations The advisory states that.