Surgeon General: Parents are overstressed, and schools, communities need to respond |
On Board Online • September 23, 2024
By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent
Parents are experiencing high levels of stress, and schools need to respond, according to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. He emphasized that parental stress impacts children.
"The stresses parents and caregivers have today are being passed to children in direct and indirect ways, impacting families and communities across America," Dr. Murthy wrote in a report called "Parents Under Pressure," which was released on Aug. 28.
In 2023, 48% of parents surveyed by the American Psychological Association said that, on most days, their stress is completely overwhelming. Over the past decade, parents have consistently reported higher levels of stress than adults without children, the advisory notes.
Murthy said parents need support and connection as they raise children in an increasingly socially isolated world in which most interactions are online. His advisory calls upon schools, communities and institutions to take an active role in mitigating parent/caregiver stress and cultivating a culture where parents and caregivers thrive.
Murthy said goals should include:
- Fostering open dialogue about parental stress, mental health and well-being in culturally appropriate ways.
- Equipping parents and caregivers with resources to address parental stressors and connect to crucial support services.
- Creating opportunities to cultivate supportive social connections among parents and caregivers.
A Surgeon General's Advisory is an urgent public statement; advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require immediate attention. In 2021, Murthy issued an advisory on youth mental health.
"In addition to the traditional challenges of parenting - protecting children from harm, worrying about finances, managing teenagers who are searching for independence - there are new stressors that previous generations didn't have to consider," the newest advisory states. "These include the complexity of managing social media, parents' concerns about the youth mental health crisis and an epidemic of loneliness that disproportionately affects young people and parents, just to name a few."
Stressors include financial strain and economic instability, time demands, concerns over children's health and safety and difficulty managing technology and social media. In one survey, approximately 65% of parents and guardians, and 77% of single parents, experienced loneliness, compared to 55% of non-parents.
In his advisory, Murthy writes that supporting parents and caregivers will require "a series of thoughtful policy changes" and a rethinking of cultural norms around parenting. He adds, "While parents and caregivers bear the primary responsibility for raising children, society as a whole must see itself as sharing in this responsibility - and shaping policy, programs and individual behavior accordingly."
"I really appreciate what the Surgeon General's report does in terms of looking at this from the society-wide lens," said Zach Pearce, family education specialist with the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS). "It addresses isolation. It addresses poverty. It addresses concerns about the future, from school safety to climate change to all the things that weigh on anybody's mind living in 2024."
"It's important for families to know who in schools they can go to or what to say to schools when they're seeing something happening with their children," said Susan Fisher, assistant director of MHANYS's School Mental Health Resource and Training Center. "The teachers need to be able to contact parents and say, 'This is what we're noticing.'"
MHANYS offers a Family Education Webinar series for parents and caregivers. These webinars provide information and resources on mental health concerns facing youth and their families. Schools can reach out to the organization to schedule presentations for parents and staff.