Parents are stressed and it is time to do something about it. In a nutshell, that's the message from the United States Surgeon General's recent public health advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents . The report states that parents and caregivers often face heightened stress due to financial strain, concerns over children's health and safety, isolation and loneliness, and difficulty managing technology and social media .
In a 2023 Pew Research Center report , over a quarter of American parents indicated that being a parent is a lot harder than they expected, with a further third of parents reporting it was somewhat harder than expected. This news is likely unsurprising to the 6 million Canadian families with children . Despite the overwhelming number of parenting books, blogs, apps and websites, many feel largely unprepared to parent.
The U.S. report should be a call to action to provide parents with the help they need to care for themselves and their families.
Why is parenting stressful? Parenting is likely harder than expected because, alongside keeping children safe, meeting their needs, time constraints and financial worries, modern families face exacerbated pressures and new stressors. Today in Canada, two-thirds of mothers work full-time while continuing to take on a larger share of physical household tasks and being more likely to take care of aging parents . Some parents, particularly those who face economic, social and cultural barriers, may carry a gr.