Romanian parents work too much, and children pay the price. 6 out of 10 say they are stressed and too tired
Romanians work among the longest hours in Europe, and the family is starting to pay the price. With an average of 38.8 hours worked per week, above that of the European Union, according to Eurostat, lack of time and constant professional pressure turn into a major source of stress for parents, with direct effects on the relationship with children.
6 out of 10 Romanian parents say they face stress and chronic fatigue. Archive photo
The data confirms this phenomenon: 6 out of 10 Romanian parents say they face stress and chronic fatigue, and among parents with small children, the situation is even more difficult. According to a Reveal Research study on parenting challenges in Romania, 65% of parents who have children between 0 and 6 years old say they feel constantly exhausted.
Stress does not remain without consequences in everyday life. 55% of parents say that fatigue affects their ability to communicate, and 40% say they are unable to maintain work-life balance. Specialists warn that, under these conditions, the time spent in the family increasingly becomes a list of tasks and responsibilities, and the emotional relationship with the child suffers.
Similar data appear in international research on parental burnout. The Parental Burnout Around the Globe study, conducted on 17,409 parents in 42 countries, shows that parental burnout occurs in all cultures analyzed, but is significantly more common in developed Western countries, where social expectations of parents are higher.
A growing body of research in developmental psychology and neuroscience shows that early relationships between children and peer adults influence emotional development, ability to regulate emotions, and how people build relationships in adulthood.
“There is a “hidden contract” that we learn with our first caregivers: we must do, be or say certain things in order to be accepted and loved. This pattern extends into our lives and influences how we relate to our children — especially the desire to “fix” or be a better parent than the pattern we received,” says Kelly McDaniel, therapist and author known for the Mother Hunger concept.
What neuroscience says about the parent-child relationship
For her part, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, psychotherapist and child development expert, explains how the daily relationships between parents and children influence brain development:
“Children's brain development is shaped by their relational experiences with the adults in their lives, how we connect them, how we respond to their emotions and how we handle difficult times are key elements that influence their ability to regulate their emotions and build healthy relationships”, explains Dr. Bryson, co-author, with Dan Siegel, of the bestseller The Whole-Brain Child, where the principles of neuroscience are concretely applied to parenting.
“Children do not need perfect parents, but parents who are present enough and willing to repair the relationship when difficulties arise. Repair is one of the most important experiences of emotional learning for a child,” adds Dr. Bryson.
