Surgeon General on Parental Stress: We’re Still Living with Impact of COVID School Closures

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “PBS NewsHour,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy discussed his advisory on parental stress and said that while there are many reasons for increased parental stress, “we’re still living with some of the aftereffects” of the stress imposed on parents from school closures during the coronavirus pandemic.

Murthy said, “I think the pandemic certainly created an increase in stress in many parents’ lives. I so viscerally remember what it was like to have to homeschool our kids during that time on top of work, and how challenging all of that was, and I think we’re still living with some of the aftereffects of that stress.”

He continued, “But the pandemic also changed how we live our lives. I think, in some ways, being able to do hybrid work was helpful for some parents, as it gave them the flexibility to be able to be there for mealtimes, for example, at dinner or being able to be there to pick up their kids or be there during the day if their child needed something. But I think being available all the time, via video or whatever remote means, it may be your choice, that also creates additional stresses for parents because it can create this expectation that you’re available all the time. And so, one of the things that it’s really important in the workplace is to have a culture where leaders understand what the stresses are that parents are managing, where they have policies that support parents, like predictable schedules, so that parents can schedule and balance work and home and where there’s also some degree of flexibility so that if issues come up, like a sick child, a parent has the ability to respond in that scenario and care for their family without worrying that they’re going to suffer at work.”

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