Businesses are being urged to provide better support to employees who have children with poor mental health, as new data reveals millions of parents are struggling to work or are giving up work completely to provide care.
In the UK, around 2.5 million children have a mental health issue. Thought to be the first research of its kind, the charity Parenting Mental Health has carried out an in-depth study questioning 651 parents who are supporting a child with poor mental health, to find out how it impacts their work, health and daily life.
More than two-thirds (70%) have had to take time off work due to their child’s mental health and 13% have given up work completely. The majority (70%) said that they’d experienced financial worries when caring for their child with mental health challenges.
Nearly all parents said that their child’s poor mental health had impacted their ability to work. Over half (54%) said it had impacted their ability to work ‘a great deal’ or ‘a lot’, while over a third (39%) said the impact had been ‘a moderate amount’ or ‘a little’. Only 6.9% said there has been no impact on their ability to work.
Most parents reported that their workplace had been accommodating when it came to taking time off for their child’s mental health – 60% said their employer was ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ accommodating and a quarter (25%) said they were ‘somewhat’ accommodating. However, 15% said they were ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ accommodating.
Two-fifths of parents are seeking support or counselling for themselves, to help them cope with the challenges related to their child’s mental health, according to the research. The overwhelming majority (94%) of parents said that they experienced ‘a great deal’ or ‘a lot’ of stress and anxiety due to their child’s mental health challenges, while the remaining 6% had experienced ‘a moderate amount’ or ‘a little’. Not a single parent said they hadn’t experienced stress or anxiety.
Suzanne Alderson, Founder of Parenting Mental Health, said: “As a working parent, the ‘juggle struggle’ is tough at the best of times, but the extraordinary stressors that are part of the everyday experience for so many caring for a child with poor mental health add enormously to the challenge. Our research shows the depth and breadth of the emotional, physical, and financial impact on parents when their child’s mental health declines. Add in the pressure of performing at work, not letting employers and colleagues down, and in many cases deciding if it is practical to leave your child alone, and it can feel insurmountable – especially when parents aren’t able to access appropriate support or flexibility from their employer.
“It is really encouraging to hear that more and more employers are being accommodating, but this experience can change and challenge you in ways that go beyond standard employee support programs and require specialist resources and understanding. If we can encourage business owners and HR leaders to recognise the extent of this issue – because it’s not going away any time soon – and implement some simple, effective ways of supporting parents who are struggling, this would help to keep more parents in employment and increase retention, engagement, and performance over the longer term for organisations.
“Making the decision to quit work is often taken because the parent feels they simply have no choice, and it’s not only devastating for them on a personal level, but it is also incredibly damaging to the wider economy. We are losing thousands of skilled workers across all sectors, but this doesn’t need to be the case. With a deeper understanding of how employees are impacted by their child’s poor mental health and a willingness to listen to them and be open and flexible around their needs, businesses can support parents to remain a valuable part of the workforce while also being given the necessary time and space to support their child.”
Suzanne founded Parenting Mental Health after experiencing the severe lack of practical and emotional support available for parents when her 14-year-old daughter was bullied, became depressed, and attempted suicide. The charity aims to support and skill 1 million parents through their child’s mental health issues by 2026.
What began as a Facebook group in 2016 has grown into a community of over 40,000 parents worldwide. Parenting Mental Health provides resources, such as books and courses, to help parents navigate this extraordinary and often unsupported and misunderstood experience. The charity emphasises the importance of parents prioritising their own mental and physical health and wellbeing as part of their caregiving role. And its community groups and services connect parents with others who understand their journey, helping to reduce the isolation and stigma that so many face.
The findings of the report are presented in the report – Parenting a child with poor mental health: A study of lived experiences Parentingmentalhealth.org/report-2024
