Parenting is one of life’s most rewarding roles, but it also has its challenges. According to a 2024 U.S. Surgeon General’s report, nearly 50 percent of parents said that most days their stress is completely overwhelming, compared with 26 percent of non-parenting adults.
The stressors that parents and caregivers face vary according to each child’s age and development. Major stressors for parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers typically revolve around tasks like feeding, sleeping, and meeting developmental milestones.
As children get older, parenting gets more complicated. Managing schoolwork and after-school activities, communicating expectations and enforcing consequences, helping them navigate friendships and disappointments, setting boundaries, and negotiating things like chores, screen time, curfews, and driving privileges are often emotionally charged topics that can take a toll on adults and children.
Ongoing stress can increase the likelihood of developing mental health challenges, such as anxiety or depression. The well-being of parents influences the well-being of children, and vice versa. Additional factors like economic instability, exposure to violence, or caring for aging family members can make home a stressful place for everyone.
Accessing Support and Connecting with Community
Dr. Ryan Connolly, senior medial director of behavioral health at Independence Blue Cross (IBX), says, “Parents can sometimes avoid or delay taking care of their own mental health because it might feel selfish, or they feel like they don’t have time because of other responsibilities. This is unfortunate because taking care of our own mental health can help us be better parents. Modeling self-care for children is also very important.”
Caregiving is more difficult when you feel lonely, which many parents do. There are lots of online resources and support groups dedicated to parenting at every age and stage. When parents and caregivers come together, share experiences, and support each other, it creates a sense of belonging that helps strengthen well-being.
IBX offers behavioral health support and resources to help parents connect with behavioral health providers, manage care plans, and explore tools to support emotional well-being. To emphasize the importance of social connection, the IBX Better Together campaign encourages people to build stronger relationships and cultivate a culture of connection.
Talking with Kids about Mental Health
The well-being of parents and caregivers is critical to the well-being of families. Most tweens and teens know when and why a parent is stressed out. Younger children can usually sense when a parent is upset, even if they may not be able to explain the reason behind it.
It might feel awkward at first, but talking about your feelings with your child is a powerful way to build their emotional intelligence. It also helps reduce stigma around stress, anxiety, and mental health.
Dr. Connolly suggests these tips to keep mental health conversations going:
- Give your child the language to identify feelings. Start conversations early and keep them age appropriate. When children can correctly identify emotions, they learn how to regulate them.
- Model emotional honesty with difficult emotions. It isn’t necessary to give your child all the details, but you can share the basics about why you are sad, disappointed, nervous, or confused. This teaches them that difficult emotions are a normal part of life and that they can be managed in healthy ways.
- Provide balance by sharing upbeat emotions. Talk to your child about what makes you happy, proud, or excited. When a child sees a parent exhibiting pleasant emotions, it reinforces that unpleasant emotions, which can be scary, are usually temporary.
- Listen when your child shares their feelings. It can be scary for children to talk about their emotions, so honor your child’s bravery and vulnerability when they open up to you. Resist the urge to correct or interrupt them.
- Be supportive if your child needs help. If you feel like your child might benefit from talking with a mental health professional, be encouraging. Parents who support mental health care tend to positively influence their child’s attitude toward it. When children get timely mental health care, their parents’ stress, well-being, work productivity, and social relationships tend to improve.
You don’t have to wait for a crisis to begin the conversation. Try to weave mental health topics into everyday moments to help normalize feelings and make it easier for kids to share their emotions. When parents positively express their emotions, they create a safe, judgement-free space that allows children to speak more comfortably about their own feelings.
If you’re a parent or caregiver, protecting your mental health isn’t just an act of self-care, it’s an important way to support your family. By taking small steps to better manage stress, build healthy mental health habits, and encourage open conversations about emotions, you’re creating a more resilient, connected home.
For more information about mental health, self-care strategies, and where to find help, visit ibx.com/knowyourmind.
