Date: October 17, 2024
To:
Dr. Vivek Murthy
Office of the Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave SW
Humphrey Bldg. Suite 701H
Washington, DC 20201
Re: Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on the Mental Health and Well Being of Parents
Dear Dr. Murthy,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations and individuals, we write to thank you for the recent publication of the Parents Under Pressure report. We deeply appreciate the report’s acknowledgment of the many stresses of modern parenting, including the explicit acknowledgment of the societal pressures parents face. We also appreciate the acknowledgment of the important links between parents’ mental health and children’s well-being, and the report’s focus on promoting systemic solutions.
In addition, we were disappointed not to see any mention of the enormous stress on parents and children that comes with extreme weather and worry about climate change. Parents Under Pressure names many of the stresses facing parents today, but climate change is a notable omission, and we write to encourage that this omission be redressed. Climate change is already and will continue to exacerbate many of the challenges parents and families are facing, as well as adding new challenges. A robust policy response to the parental mental health crisis must be grounded in the reality of climate change.
Climate change disrupts family life
Millions of families across the country have felt the impact of extreme weather over the past several years; 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record. Climate change means more intense heat waves, wildfires, storms, and flooding—and more stressful disruptions to family routines. The stresses of extreme weather add to the already-enormous burden that parents are carrying each day, and these stresses will get worse in the coming years. Many of us hear stories every day from parents who tell us about how they scramble for childcare and struggle to entertain children indoors at home when heat, smoke, or intense storms force schools and daycares to close. And far too many parents have experienced the acute distress of fleeing from fires or floods with their children utterly reliant on them for safety. As climate change disrupts the routines that connect families to their communities, it may also exacerbate the profound challenge of parental loneliness.
The Parents Under Pressure report suggests the establishment of a national paid family and medical leave program. Climate-informed policy for parents would also include paid leave and flexible work hours to accommodate caring for children during and after extreme weather events; funding for more safe indoor spaces for kids to play during extreme heat and poor air quality days; and robust national disaster mental health programming for communities impacted by climate driven disasters.
Climate change means more economic strain for families
Intensifying weather extremes will also increase economic strain for families, a variable the Parents Under Pressure report identifies as a key contributor to parental stress. According to a 2024 report from the Aspen Institute, over half (53%) of U.S. counties face elevated exposure to at least one climate hazard: “As extreme weather events and natural disasters become more frequent and widespread nationwide,” the Aspen report describes, “families must cope with recurring financial shocks that chip away at their financial security and erode their ability to build and sustain wealth, especially in the face of future climate hazards.”
The financial toll of climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color; parents in these communities are also at heightened risk for mental health challenges. Climate-informed policy to support parents’ mental health should include address the escalating financial burden of climate change by promoting funding for home weatherization programs that help lower families’ energy costs during extreme heat or cold, as well as funding to help families recover economically from climate-driven disasters.
Parents are already struggling with difficult emotions about climate change
Recovery from climate disasters is, of course, more than an economic equation; extreme weather can take a profound toll on families’ mental health. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the number of people experiencing a mental health challenge in the wake of a disaster can outweigh those physically injured by an astonishing 40 to 1. Research also suggests that majorities of both young people and parents are struggling with difficult emotions about climate change: a 2022 Stanford survey of parents of young children in the US found that 78% of caregivers report feeling worried about climate change and how it may impact their children. And a 2023 literature review on climate change and parents’ mental health found that many parents feel profound moral distress relating to climate change, and painful emotions ranging from anger and anxiety to overwhelm and existential despair. Research suggests that parents of color, particularly Latino/Hispanic parents, may experience higher levels of climate distress than white parents.
The Parents Under Pressure report calls for investing in social infrastructure that brings parents together and ensuring that caregivers have access to high quality mental health care. Climate-informed policy should also promote funding for community resilience programs focused on helping caregivers navigate the stresses of climate change, such as parent-centered climate cafes, Good Grief Network groups, preventative community resilience models, or other peer support groups for climate distress.
Our ask
With every new flood, wildfire, and storm, climate change is quite literally shifting the ground parents and children are standing on. We hope that your office will acknowledge the impact of climate change on parents’ mental health in future communications and reports to the public; consider adding a climate-focused addendum to Parents Under Pressure; conduct research on the subject; and convene a discussion of relevant stakeholders, including the undersigned organizations, to help shape a climate-informed policy response to the parental mental health crisis.
Respectfully,
Organizations
Moms Clean Air Force
EcoMadres
Climate Psychology Alliance, North America
Climate Psychiatry Alliance
Climate Mental Health Network
One Green Thing
EcoAmerica/Climate for Health
Environmental Protection Network
California Institute of Integral Studies
Nevada Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Elders Climate Action
Evergreen Action
International Transformational Resilience Coalition
New Hampshire Healthy Climate
ClimateMama
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
Individuals
Jade Sasser, Associate Professor, University of California Riverside
Britt Wray, Director, CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry
Susan Clayton, Professor of Psychology, College of Wooster
Joe Waters, CEO, Capita
Rev. Nicole Diroff, The BTS Center