Is Parenting Hazardous to Your Health?

Is parenting hazardous to your health?

It is according to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Dr. Vivek Murthy in a press release from a few days ago said that over the last decade, parents have been consistently more likely to report  high levels of stress compared to other adults.

According to Dr. Murthy having children can, “have a harmful effect on the mental health of parents and caregivers, which in turn also affects the well- being of the children they raise.”

The New York Times gave the good doctor op-ed space to amplify his warning. “Something has to change. It begins with fundamentally shifting how we value parenting, recognizing that the work of raising a child is crucial to the health and well-being of all society.” No kidding. How about the future existence of society.

I am grateful to have the government’s chief medical officer remind me that raising children is hard.

So what’s to be done about all this? Unsurprisingly Murthy recommends a gigantic dose of government. James Freeman in the Wall Street Journal tries to catalogue the solutions. The government should offer childcare subsidies and child income tax credits; universal preschool; early childhood education programs…programs that help nurture healthy family dynamics such as early childhood home visiting programs funded by the government and services and support for family caregivers like Healthy Start Programs and the Lifespan Respite Care Program. Priorities should encompass poverty reduction, prevention of adverse childhood experiences, access to affordable neighborhood safety, and improving access to healthy food and affordable housing. Offer parents crucial services and supports, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program, Women, Infants, and Children benefits, childcare support, home visits; the list goes on and on.

Of course Dr. Murthy does not mention that the financial burden of all this will be borne by—you guessed it—parents.



I have raised nine children so I feel somewhat qualified to weigh in on this. Parenting is hard. Everything in life that is worth doing is hard. I’m guessing that a person who works a 60-hour week feels more stress than a person who works a 30-hour week. Parents are trying to do more than the childless person. I am retired.  This may shock you but I find my life less stressful than when I had nine children at home.

Dr. Murthry acknowledges the importance of parenting, so why is he making public pronouncements to discourage it? The major problem facing America and the world right now is the birth dearth: people have stopped having children. How does this help?

Where is the proof that any of these government programs help? We have been spending trillions on them since the 60s yet—according to the Surgeon General—here we are. We seem to be worse off than we’ve ever been.

In the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx declared war on the family. He saw it—correctly—as an obstacle to his revolutionary goals. Ever since Leftist regimes have done their best to disparage and harm the traditional family which God in Genesis 2:24 established as the basic institution for human society.

Since Dr. Murthy is a member of the bureaucracy of the federal government let me make a few suggestions: Not labeling parents domestic terrorists as the Attorney General did, would make life less stressful. School choice would help. It’s stressful for parents to be trapped in horrific public institutions. The federal government and some states are at war with parents, forbidding a school from notifying them if their child is contemplating a gender transition. Assuring parents that their daughters won’t have to share a bathroom with a man would help. So far as I can tell government is not the answer to parental stress; it’s part of the cause.

As with about everything else the answer is spiritual. Mary Eberstadt’s excellent research has shown that nothing drives a person to God like having children. If you are a parent or would like to be one turn to the Lord for your strength and wisdom. It won’t make parenting stress free but it will help you be successful. And don’t fear having children. With a few exceptions God wants people to have kids.  As the Psalmist says obedience to God produces “pleasures for ever more.” (Psalm 16:11)

Thanks for listening. May God bless America’s families.

More: Why Have Rich People Stopped Having Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhI4hV-nZyk

Does God Want Me to Have Children?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhI4hV-nZyk

The Blessings of Raising a Large Family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rmq8_LEBps

Wall Street Journal article on the dangers of parenting:

https://www.wsj.com/tech/surgeon-general-warning-parenting-mental-health-53f75c63?mod=djem10point

The Dangers of Parenting:

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4851621-us-surgeon-general-warns-parenting/

James Freeman in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/surgeon-general-prescribes-much-bigger-government-917de180?mod=MorningEditorialReport&mod=djemMER_h

Murthy’s defense in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/opinion/surgeon-general-stress-parents.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20240829&instance_id=132911&nl=opinion-today&regi_id=192098175&segment_id=176377&te=1&user_id=312428a6983db1713c2ed5abc5829f49

The Surgeon General’s press release: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/08/28/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-mental-health-well-being-parents.html