By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Almost half of American parents surveyed say they face “overwhelming” levels of stress on a daily basis, and in an advisory<\/a> issued on Wednesday U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy<\/a> called parental stress an urgent public health issue.<\/p>\n Murthy said he issued the advisory — meant to draw attention to a health issue of national importance — to “highlight\u00a0the stressors that impact the mental health and well-being of parents and caregivers, the critical link between parental mental health and children’s long-term well-being, and the urgent need to better support parents, caregivers and families.”<\/p>\n As outlined in the new report, data from 2023 show a third of parents saying they faced high levels of stress over the past month, compared to 20% of other adults.<\/p>\n Nearly half (48%) of parents surveyed last year said that, “most days, their stress is completely overwhelming,” according to the new advisory. That’s compared to 26% of other adults expressing that same level of daily stress.<\/p>\n According to the new advisory, some of the major stressors plaguing moms and dads include:<\/p>\n Financial strain, economic instability and poverty\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Time demands<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Children\u00e2\u0080\u0099s health\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Children\u00e2\u0080\u0099s safety<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Parental isolation and loneliness<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Technology and social media<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cultural pressures and children\u00e2\u0080\u0099s futures<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Murthy believes there’s a dangerous trickle-down effect of parental stress, because it can impact the mental health of their kids.<\/p>\n In 2021, Murthy issued an advisory<\/a> citing the “alarming” increase in the number of U.S. youth facing mental health issues.<\/p>\n “We know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children,” Murthy wrote. “The stresses parents and caregivers have today are being passed to children in direct and indirect ways, impacting families and communities across America.”<\/p>\n He cited his own experience.<\/p>\n “I also feel the weight of the daily big and small decisions we have to make as parents that don\u00e2\u0080\u0099t come with an instruction manual,” Murthy said.<\/p>\n Parenting<\/a> has never been easy, but Murthy believes that societal changes have made it even tougher.<\/p>\n “As technological and economic forces have reshaped the world at a dizzying pace, it has also become harder for parents to prepare children for a future that is difficult to understand or predict,” Murthy said in the report.<\/p>\n The internet and social media, especially, have created an intense “culture of comparison,” he said, with parents straining to keep up.<\/p>\n This creates “unrealistic expectations” regarding “milestones, parenting strategies, achievements and status symbols that kids and parents must pursue,” Murthy believes.<\/p>\n “Chasing these unreasonable expectations has left many families feeling exhausted, burned out and perpetually behind,” he said.<\/p>\n What’s needed is an attitude adjustment by society regarding the importance and challenges of parenting, he said.<\/p>\n “The work of raising a child is work, no less valuable than the work performed in a paid job and of extraordinary value when it comes to the impact on the future of society,” the Surgeon General said.<\/p>\n Communities must also do more to help ease the burden on parents.<\/p>\n That could include “programs that will help ensure parents and caregivers can get time off to be with a sick child, secure affordable child care, access reliable mental health care and benefit from places and initiatives that support social connection and community,” Murthy explained.<\/p>\n Too often, he added, parents feel shame about their perceived inability to meet financial and cultural expectations when it comes to a child’s achievements, exacerbating stress levels. It’s time to talk “more openly about the challenges parents face,” Murthy said.<\/p>\n “I am hopeful this Surgeon General\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Advisory will help catalyze and support the changes we need to ensure all parents and caregivers can thrive,” Murthy said.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Find out more about dealing with parental stress at the University of Pennsylvania<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n