Parental stress is not healthy for our children
ONE in five parents are experiencing poor mental health which is impacting on children, a new report has found.
The report, by Barnardos, also found that nearly half of parents with poor mental health said it had a moderate impact on their kids, while 12 per cent said it had a considerable negative impact on their children.
The parents Barnardos spoke to said their mental health issues could lead children to develop difficulties regulating emotions, struggle with routines, become more insecure and/or withdrawn and begin attention-seeking behaviour.
The report also found that 23 per cent reported feeling anxious most of the time, 19 per cent felt overwhelmed most of the time, nine per cent felt depressed most of the time and 31 per cent felt burnt out/ exhausted most of the time.
Many acknowledged that mental health issues could affect their ability to parent as effectively and as positively as they would like.
It could lead to them struggling with day to day parenting tasks (18 per cent), reduce their motivation while increasing negativity, limit patience and tolerance (26 per cent), and cause emotional detachment from children (36 per cent).
One of those surveyed said: “Anxiety leaves me feeling very tired physically and mentally, which in turn affects my mood and again my tolerance for my children’s perfectly normal behaviour. I find myself snapping at them.”
Another parent said: “Tiredness takes over – therefore I do not have the energy to make sure I cook a good meal or spend quality time with my children.” The survey also found that 66 per cent of parents said that at some point they had poor mental health and wellbeing, with one in five saying they currently had poor mental health.
A total of 48 per cent of parents who experienced poor mental health said it had a moderate negative impact on their children and, worryingly, more 12 per cent said it was considerable, while 46 per cent of parents said it affected their children emotionally and mentally, leading to issues around low mood and increasing anxiety.
One-third (33 per cent) said it affected family dynamics, strained family relationships and increased conflict within the home.
The report’s findings demonstrate a sub-stantial number of parents in Ireland are experiencing mental health issues, a significant proportion of whom will have had their parenting impaired as a result.
Without support, this jeopardises the quality of thousands of childhoods across
Barnardos in call for support and awareness drive
the country, as well as future adulthoods, particularly those families facing numerous adversities and disadvantages.
Barnardos said support must be available immediately for these kids and their families to reduce the potential harm and negative impacts because childhood lasts a lifetime.
The charity is calling on the Government to develop a campaign raising the awareness of the impact of parental mental health on children, while seeking to address any stigma associated with it.
It also wants increased funding for targeted intensive family supports for parents facing mental health issues and to record the parenting status of all adults engaged with mental health services and automatically offer a referral to local family/parenting support services to all parents with children under 18 who are engaging with adult mental health services.
Barnardos’ CEO Suzanne Connolly said: “Approximately 30 per cent of families we are supporting have issues around parental mental health, making it one of the main issues families we support currently face. As a society, we have made considerable progress in making children and young people feel OK and comfortable talking about mental health.
“We now need to make similar progress in normalising and helping parents to feel comfortable discussing and talking about mental health in the context of being a parent.
“From the results of our survey the issue of parental mental health issues is more prevalent than we anticipated, and is certainly not matched by the level of support currently available.
“It is important that the stigma and the lack of public awareness associated with parental mental health is addressed, however we must also ensure parents and their families get the support they need.
“It is clear from discussions with parents the desire for easily accessible family support. Because childhood lasts a lifetime.”
It is important the stigma and lack of awareness is addressed SUZANNE CONNOLLY ON PARENTAL MENTAL HEALTH