Yesterday, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents.
The advisory from United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy brings to light the “need to better support parents, caregivers, and families to help our communities thrive.”
Stress levels among parents have risen sharply over the last decade which can lead to negative effects on mental health. This increased level of stress can also create harmful effects on the children that these parents and caregivers raise, potentially increasing the risk for symptoms of depression and anxiety.
To confront this, Dr. Murthy is calling for a fundamental shift in how we value and prioritize the mental health and well-being of parents.
The call acknowledges the need to change our policies and culture to address the issues parents and caregivers face that bring about these increased stress levels. This can be achieved by:
- Increasing access to paid family leave
- Improving early childhood education and childcare
- Investing in mental health care
At the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, our resident expert and co-developer of the Chicago Parent Program, Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, weighed in:
“The U.S. Surgeon General’s new advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents is a long overdue acknowledgment of the hard work of good parenting. We need to raise the status of parenting from the world’s largest on-the-job training program to one that recognizes it’s true value. Raising children is the most important thing we do as a society. Let’s create programs and policies that provide parents with the support they need.”