KIDS AREN’ T THE ONLY ONES
Attention Must Be Paid
The surgeon general’ s report challenges Americans to“ rethink cultural norms around parenting,” including“ shifting how we value parenting.”
Raising a child involves a lot of work and has a huge impact on our collective future. But all of that labor is unpaid and most of it is invisible. In American culture, we tend to recognize only paid labor as“ work,” in a culture where hours devoted to paid labor as well as unpaid parenting are on the rise.
More parents than ever are working outside the home, which makes balancing their careers and family life difficult.
“... there is significant‘ mental labor’ involved in parenting, such as organizing children’ s schedules, making decisions for them, and monitoring their progress that‘ impact attentional resources, cognitive functioning, and psychological well-being.’
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Murthy’ s report observes that“ the average employment work hours for parents have increased over time, with parents now dedicating an average of 33.5 hours per week to employed work... This represents a 28 % increase for mothers, rising from 20.9 hours per week in 1985 to 26.7 hours per week in 2022, and a 4 % increase for fathers, increasing from 39.8 hours per week in 1985 to 41.2 hours per week in 2022.” The report contends that the competing demands of work and family lead to“ conflict, guilt, and burnout among parents.”
While parents are working more, they are also doing more childcare than past generations of parents did. This care includes attending to the physical needs of children, playing with them, and transporting them to activities. Dr. Murthy’ s statistics are sobering:“ Time spent weekly on primary child care has increased by 40 % among mothers from 8.4 hours in 1985 to 11.8 hours in 2022, and by 154 % among fathers from 2.6 hours in 1985 to 6.6 hours in 2022.” These extra hours hinder sleep time, time with one’ s partner, and leisure time. It’ s also worth noting that even in this modern era mothers on average are harder hit by the demands of parenting than fathers are.
Additionally, Murthy observes, there is significant“ mental labor” involved in parenting, such as organizing children’ s
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CSEE Connections Fall 2025 Page 5