American parents are so stressed out it's now a public health crisis

It’s no secret that American parents are stressed out. From books about parental burnout to articles about the struggle of modern motherhood, the voices of parents across the country are loud and clear. But this week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy shed a new light on the issue when he issued a U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents, declaring it an urgent public health issue. For content, Murthy has issued similar advisories on gun violence, loneliness, and youth mental health.

Murthy said parents have “a profound impact on the health of our children and the health of society.”

“Yet parents and caregivers today face tremendous pressures, from familiar stressors such as worrying about their kids’ health and safety and financial concerns to new challenges like navigating technology and social media, a youth mental health crisis, an epidemic of loneliness that has hit young people the hardest,” Murthy said. “With this Advisory, I am calling for a fundamental shift in how we value and prioritize the mental health and well-being of parents.”

In the United States, there are an estimated 63 million parents living with children under the age of 18. Over the last 10 years, parents have been reported to be more likely to experience high levels of stress compared to other adults; according to the advisory in the previous month, 33 percent of parents reported high levels of stress compared to 20 percent of other adults.

The advisory calls for national paid family and medical leave programs and paid sick time for all workers. Additionally, Murthy calls for increased support for child care financial assistance, universal preschool, and a culture shift.

“It’s time to value and respect time spent parenting on par with time spent working at a paying job, recognizing the critical importance to society of raising children,” he said. Murthy has previously issued advisories about loneliness, firearms and more.