Parents facing burnout due to pandemic, finds survey

Of the 2,000 parents surveyed by Action for Children, 82 per cent admitted to struggling with at least one of the warning signs that may indicate parental burnout – a condition identified as a ‘prolonged response to chronic and overwhelming parental stress’.

Warning signs experienced by respondents included – anxiety, disruption to sleep, feeling isolated, depression and overwhelming exhaustion mentally.  

The charity is calling on the Government to urgently increase the support available for parents and carers before problems escalate in homes or schools, a situation, it says, could lead to ‘potentially significant, yet avoidable’, costs for public services.

Other key findings from the survey include:

• Parents of pre-school children were more likely to say they have suffered at least one of the indicators of parental burnout (86 per cent) than parents of secondary age children (76 per cent).
• More women are likely to be struggling with signs of parental burnout as a result of the pandemic than men.
• 88 per cent of parents said they were worried about the impact of Covid on their child’s future.

Action for Children reported that its parenting helpline, Parent Talk, has seen a ‘sharp rise’ in parents seeking help with the most severe issues since the start of the pandemic. Worries about children’s mental health featured in over half (51 per cent) of chats since March, compared to about a third of chats (32 per cent) last year – an increase of 60 per cent. Concerns about their child’s education have also doubled year on year, and parents and carers are also increasingly expressing worries about their own mental health.

A parent who spoke to the charity’s helpline said, ‘I have a toddler and feel like I’m on a ride I can’t get off. Lately I’ve been having feelings of rage which isn’t like me at all. I feel like I can’t get back to normal after the pandemic. I’m still anxious about going out and feel so isolated and depressed.’

Another said, ‘I’m still waiting for an ASD (autism spectrum disorder) diagnosis for my child, but I’ve been told I could be waiting for over a year. He’s struggling enormously and I feel like I’m drowning I’m so worried about it all. I can’t sleep and when I do I have nightmares.’ 

'Parents are often feeling utterly overwhelmed with nowhere to turn'

Lynn Giles, Parent Talk Manager at Action for Children, said, ‘Every day Parent Talk hears heart-breaking stories of children struggling with their mental health, education, development – the list is endless and these issues are hurting children from newborns to teens. Parents are desperately trying to help support their children but are often feeling utterly overwhelmed with nowhere to turn. Desperate to do the right thing, but not knowing what that is.  

‘The Government needs to recognise that parents, especially now, need help in lots of different ways. We need to invest in face-to-face services like Family Hubs, which are local support centres where problems can be picked up more easily in the early stages and could prove a vital lifeline to those parents struggling in the wake of the pandemic.’