US Surgeon General Warns Us about Parental Well-Being

Last night, I had the privilege of attending a webinar put on by the North East Region of the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) and I wish every single one of you could have been there.

The focus of the conversation was the US Surgeon General’s recent advisory report that outlines how parents and caregivers of children are at a higher risk of adverse mental health conditions and we need to do more to support families.  You can read more and see some mind-blowing statistics about how stressful parenting in today’s world can be on the US Department of Health and Human Services’s page here.

Some people will read that and say, “parenting has always been stressful” and others will read that and respond “I could have told you that” and I encourage both types of people to continue reading.

The report tells us “We must do more to better support parents and caregivers”

The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society. Amid a youth mental health crisis, the work of raising a child is just as valuable as the work performed in a paid job and critically important when it comes to the impact on the future of society.

So what can we do?

• Provide “Third Spaces”
  • More parents and caregivers are working more hours than ever and they desperately need places that aren’t home and work to gather with other parents
  • UUS will begin offering two special occurrences of these Third Spaces in 2025 on a regular basis: no agenda, no expectations, no cost
  • If you’re a parent or a caregiver interested in utilizing this space or another individual interested in helping to make it happen, please fill out this short survey
• Understand that families can’t necessarily commit to participating in advance and even if they want to show up on Sundays (or any other time), things don’t always go according to plan.  Be supportive, overjoyed even, when parents and caregivers are able to attend service, join in at a function, participate in your meeting, or anything else that takes the very little “free” time that they have
• Volunteer in our classrooms
  • You may have noticed that I don’t require parents and caregivers to volunteer in our classroom spaces.  We can not say we support families and then force volunteer time on them when they come to Sunday service to try and put a few drops into their own spiritual cup.  This means I need people to volunteer who may feel they’ve already “served their time” in education spaces.
  • If you’re able to give one hour a month supporting families, email me at education@uusic.org

The world is a different place than it has ever been before and it’s continuing to change.  Let us support the future of our world by supporting the parents and caregivers working so hard to raise that future to be just and full of love.