Last August, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory declaring that parental stress was now considered to be a major public health issue. The report shed light on increasing stress levels among parents, saying 33 percent of parents report high levels of stress and 48 percent of parents say that most days their stress is completely overwhelming.
Some of the stressors the report mentioned are economic, like financial strain or affording childcare, but parents also report higher levels of loneliness and isolation, and many cite technology and social media as sources of stress.
One Bay Area group that’s been helping parents navigate all this is Family Paths. They have a 24/7 hotline parents can call when they’re experiencing stress. I visited them in their Oakland office and sat down with Kim San Gabriel, program manager for the hotline, and Michael J Lewis, a parent educator.