“While COVID-19 was devastating for many families, the mental health of parents and children was in decline even before the pandemic”

A recent study “Parenting in America Today” found that mental health tops the list of parental concerns for today’s children.

Deborah Gross, endowed professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, says the reasons for this are many, including lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, income inequities, and the declining mental health of parents themselves. 

Gross says:

“While COVID-19 was devastating for many families, the mental health of parents and children was in decline even before the pandemic. In studies conducted before the pandemic, the proportion of parents reporting they were in ‘excellent or very good’ mental health and who were coping ‘very well’ with the demands of raising children had dropped substantially over the last 5 years. When parents struggle with their mental health and wellbeing, so do their children.”

“When asked what parents worry about most, their top concerns relate to their children’s mental health and wellbeing.”

“While all parents worry about their children, it is not a level playing field. Parents reporting lower incomes worry much more about their children’s mental health, about their children being shot or kidnapped, or their children getting into trouble with the police when compared to parents with higher incomes. These are real worries that affect parents’ and children’s mental health, and they need our attention.”

“We expect a lot of parents. As a society, we need to do more to support them in supporting their children’s mental health and not wait until families are in crisis.”