Being a parent isn’t easy, especially in today’s world, with ever-increasing inflation, a highly charged political climate, and social pressure to do it all and have it all. There is tremendous pressure on us to raise the next group of tiny humans into well-adjusted adults, which is why many of us become “intensive parents” or “intensive parenting.” I am practicing the parenting style of “. So, what are the latest parenting trends? You may not even realize that you are one of them.
TikTok user @unsolicitedsarcasm said, “I learned that my parenting style is called “intensive parenting,” which is probably the style that many parents use these days.” TikTok user @unsolicitedsarcasm said in a video, before giving some examples of things like this. .
“It’s a place for kids to have conversations while they watch TV shows, so they’re not just staring at a screen. Instead of saying you’re proud of your kids, you’re telling them you’re I’m telling you to be proud of yourself, which is a lot of what you see on TikTok and social media and what the Miss Rachels and Dr. Beckys of the world are giving us. It’s called intensive parenting.”
She continued, “And it’s great, it makes great human beings, and it’s hugely beneficial for our children. But it’s so intensive that the Surgeon General has said that parental stress is at an all-time high.” I just said it’s the best. And we’re all at risk for a universal health crisis because of our parents’ stress levels. This is usually a warning about things like tobacco and AIDS. We’re now in a position to decide if we want to continue to focus on our kids so they can be better people, or if we’re going to scale back, we’re going to live for a few more years and fuck it. So what do we do?
She’s not wrong! The Surgeon General’s findings are set out in a 35-page report published in late August 2024, which describes parental stress as an “urgent public health issue”. The study draws on data from the American Psychological Association and other sources to build evidence that parents are facing greater stress than perhaps at any time in recent history.
Psychological data shows that one-third of parents of children under 18 rate their stress levels at 8 or higher on a 10-point scale. Two-fifths of parents report feeling numb from so much stress. Three-fifths say stress makes it harder for them to concentrate. Two-thirds are concerned with money issues.
We didn’t need a study to know that parenting in 2024 is going to be tough as shit, but it’s always nice to have data backed by science.
In her comment section, parents shared their struggles with intensive parenting, including their regrets.
“Not every activity has to be child-centered. We are too child-centered,” one user wrote.
“Our generation is intensively raising children (and we’re raising our own parents) without actually doing any parenting. We’re finding that our children are more stressed out when raising children than we are.” I hope it will be alleviated,” another person hoped.
“One of the main predictors of a child’s success is a mother’s happiness. Be sure to take time for yourself,” another noted.
OP replied, “Of course!” I really love that fact and wish more people and mothers would understand how important their true happiness is. ”
