Culture Post: Drive to Be ‘Perfect’ Parent Isn’t Healthy, Survey Finds

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Parents striving to be “perfect” will never attain that goal, and the aim isn’t even healthy for their families, a new study says.

The risks of striving for perfection are such that researchers have now created a scale to help parents track their burnout and, if necessary, counter it.

The first-of-its-kind Working Parent Burnout Scale is a 10-point survey that helps parents measure their stress and fatigue in real time, researchers say.

“If maybe you’re prioritizing making sure your house is spotless all the time, but then you don’t feel like you have time to go for a walk every night with your children, maybe you need to reorganize or find a way to make both of those things work,” lead researcher Kate Gawlik, an associate clinical professor at the Ohio State College of Nursing, said in a news release.

About 57% of parents who took part in a new survey said they’re burned out.

Burnout can happen when a parent sets unrealistic expectations for themselves, as part of a “culture of achievement” that’s been spurred in part by social media.

“You can look at people on Instagram or you can even just see people walking around, and I always think, ‘How do they do that? How do they seem to always have it all together when I don’t?’ ” Gawlik said.

“We have high expectations for ourselves as parents; we have high expectations for what our kids should be doing,” she continued. “Then on the flipside, you’re comparing yourself to other people, other families, and there’s a lot of judgment that goes on. And whether it’s intended or not, it’s still there.”

The updated report, The Power of Positive Parenting: Evidence to Help Parents and Their Children Thrive, includes survey results from more than 700 parents polled in June and July 2023.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/drive-to-be-perfect-parent-isnt-healthy-survey-finds

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