Surgeon general's new warning: Parents are stressed out
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America's mental health crisis is weighing heavily on parents struggling with economic and societal concerns as they try to raise kids, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in an advisory issued on Wednesday.
Why it matters: It's a timely message from the Biden administration amid a presidential election showcasing working-class families' struggles with an emphasis on populist themes.
The big picture: Being a parent has never been easy, but it's become perilous helping kids navigate a brittle social media landscape with outsized peer comparisons, along with stressors like gun violence and loneliness.
- At the same time, parents are less likely to have support from extended family or in-person community and face more job-related time pressure.
- "These are newer stresses that prior generations didn't have to contend with in the same way," Murthy told Axios. "I want to make sure that parents know that their well-being really does matter and that caring for themselves in some of the ways we lay out in this advisory is not selfish or indulgent, but it's necessary and important."
- The advisory calls for expanded parental, medical, and sick leave, as well as incorporating mental well-being checks into primary care.
Between the lines: Some of the remedies dovetail with Vice President Kamala Harris' economic plan, which calls for a $6,000 child tax credit for families during the first year of a kid's life — when expenses tend to rise and income falls while a parent steps out of the workforce.
- Vice presidential candidate JD Vance has also said he'd like to expand the child tax credit.
- Childhood programs like Head Start and universal free school lunches have also become prominent talking points as the race heats up.
What they're saying: "The decision to issue the advisory for me was based on public health need," Murthy told Axios. "It was based on these conversations I was having with parents over the last few years around the country, where the stresses and strains on them were evident and hard to ignore."
- The advisory suggests anyone who is a parent or filling that role prioritize stress-relievers like exercise and enough sleep, along with recreational activities.
- Parents should also nurture relationships with other parents, caregivers, or supportive friends, obtain insurance coverage for themselves and their families, and seek mental health care when needed.
Murthy last year issued a public health advisory about the harms social media poses to young people, and in June called for Congress to issue a warning label for kids on social media.
- The latest advisory also calls for more involvement from employers, policymakers, community leaders, and the health care system.
- Employers should improve access to paid parental, medical, and sick leave, flexible work schedules, and access to child care, along with mental health care.
- Community leaders can foster in-person social connections and support programs at libraries, faith-based organizations, barbershops, and schools.
- Health care providers can perform well-being checks for mental health conditions and economic or social needs during post-natal and pediatrician visits and provide links to care to parents who need support.
"While parents and caregivers bear the primary responsibility for raising children, society as a whole must see itself as sharing in this responsibility — and shaping policy, programs, and individual behavior accordingly," the advisory said.
