From shortcuts for better sleep habits to two-minute solutions for healthy meals, parenting tips are basically ubiquitous. Ranging from strangely helpful to ridiculously hilarious, these tricks constantly pop up on social media so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and boy, are we ever: A 2024 report from the U.S. Surgeon General found that 41% of parents say that most days they are so stressed they cannot function. One cause? Many parents these days are working full time (with little flexibility) while trying to juggle school schedules, household responsibilities, and child care gaps. They’re carrying the emotional labor of raising kids and often they’re doing it far from extended family to help. When the pressure is boiling over, there are pretty much no parenting hacks that can cool things down.
Why hacks don’t always help
Shortcuts and hacks might seem simple but what they don’t add into the question? Many parents don’t have the energy, time, and mental space to put them into practice. That’s because chronic stress impacts how the brain works. In fact, a 2022 review of 17 research studies found that prolonged stress leads to memory loss as well as difficulties in focusing, multitasking, verbal skills, impulse control and executive functioning. That means routines can get derailed, kids might act out, and parents wind up blaming themselves. The result? A simple hack becomes something parents feel like they’re failing at.
What actually makes a difference
Hacks have their time and place, but what parents consistently need (and deserve) is support — and support isn’t just one thing. It’s a blend of resources that help parents thrive, not just survive. For starters, parents need practical support, which is help with child care, transportation, household tasks, and backup when best-laid plans go poof. This support can be found in the form of a sitter, nanny or house cleaner, and the dividends will pay off: A 2024 study published in BMS Pediatrics found that parents with reliable support positively impacts their parenting which is linked with better mental health outcomes of their children.
Other important forms of support for parents? Emotional support (a friend, colleague, relative, spouse, hairstylist, you name it) who will listen without judgment and validate the very real feeling that yes, parenting is super hard, even though you love your kids more than anything. There’s also social support, the stuff you get from friends, neighbors, family or other parents, as well as structural support, which could mean access to child care or flexibility at work.
How to reframe the idea of “good parenting”
What does “good parenting” even mean? Obviously the definition might vary from person to person, family to family, culture to culture. But one thing it isn’t? Feeling the obligation to optimize every single minute of your child’s life. In the time of snowplow parenting, it’s important to remember that children don’t need parents who do absolutely everything for them. Instead, they need parents who show up for them consistently, and that requires support.
At Sittercity, we get it — and we’re here to connect you with a sitter to support you and your family, however and whenever you need it. (Here are seven benefits a babysitter has on your child’s development.)
If parenting feels hard right now, we promise: It’s not because you haven’t uncovered the right hack. It’s because parenting isn’t meant to be done in isolation, all alone, without support.
