Parents are more stressed than ever, according to a recent advisory issued by the U.S. Surgeon General, which highlights that 48% of parents say their stress is completely overwhelming. Parents’ mental health is in crisis due to many factors including financial strain, concerns about child development, parental loneliness and societal pressures, to name just a few. A recent survey of 2,000 parents commissioned by Kiddie Academy® echoes these concerns, with the average parent worrying about their child’s growth and development four times each day.
By prioritizing the mental health and wellbeing of parents, we can also improve the mental health and wellbeing of children who pick up on palpable stress at home. Parents can benefit from developing their own personal toolkit to help ease stress and set their families up for more success. One of the top considerations for this toolkit should be some form of child care—whether it's utilizing child care facilities, family or in-home caregivers.
Here’s why an educational child care provider can bolster a parent’s mental health:
To feel more at ease, parents—and children—can benefit from the consistency provided through a child care center, whether the parent is working outside the home or not. Humans thrive on routines, and child care centers are built on them. With 49% of parents indicating they feel like they should be doing more for their children, leaning on a child care provider is something that can give parents peace of mind in knowing their children are being educated and nurtured in a safe environment.
Child care gives parents the opportunity to engage their children in a social setting without the added stress of having to set up consistent playdates. The exposure a child has in a child care facility to other children and non-familial adults offers social development that will benefit a young child for life.
Many parents worry they’re not able to give their children the same focus at home that they get in a school setting, with 47% saying child care helps their children grow and develop better and faster. In addition, 48% of parents say that child care helps their children develop skills they can see at home—skills like critical thinking, creating connections with others, and building confidence, all of which a quarter of parents said they struggle to teach their children. 90% of parents are actively looking for ways to grow their children’s creativity, a skill that is a focal point in most child care programs.
Have you ever heard the phrase “quality over quantity?” With 56% of parents indicating that they feel guilty for not spending enough time with their children, it’s important to recognize that just the amount of time spent with a child isn’t what matters—it’s about the benefits gained from time spent together. When parents rely on child care for a focus on child development, they’re able to spend more fun, carefree time with their children, knowing their needs are being met through other caregivers as well.
Parents average only 31 minutes of “me time” per day in an 18-hour work day that includes their daily child care responsibilities. When parents—working or not—use a child care provider, they are afforded some critical time to take a break, run errands, or whatever they need, knowing their children are being cared for. That’s why 85% of parents agree that child care helps them maintain a sense of self and independence alongside being a parent.
When parents are stressed, it affects the whole family. Finding different resources that can help—from social groups to meal prep services to reliable child care providers and more—will create a toolkit that eases just a little bit of parental worry. Now, more than ever, improving mental health for parents is of the utmost importance for our children’s future.
Joy Turner
Autore