04 Nov 71% of New Parents Reluctant To Ask For Help With New Babies
Almost three quarters (71%) of parents admitted to being reluctant to reach out and ask for help during the first few weeks of welcoming home their baby, according to new research.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of those surveyed worried about being labelled a bad parent and 40% did not want others to think they can’t cope if they were to ask for assistance.
Highlighting how challenging bringing home a new baby can be for parents, the research, which was conducted by premium children’s brand, Stokke, as an introduction to their brand platform ‘Here We Grow’, also found that retrospectively, nearly a third of parents (31%) wish that before welcoming their baby they knew that it was okay to ask for help. A quarter (25%) would also tell new or first-time parents to ask for support if they need it.
With an eye-watering 84% of parents shocked at how their life changed and 22% struggling with their lack of confidence in their abilities as a new mum / dad, the survey revealed that it’s mum who tends feel parental guilt the most.
Feeling the pressure of peers and experts, 71% of mums admitted to feeling guilty for not doing or not being able to do something advised by parenting experts, compared to 57% of dads, and 81% of mums confessed to feeling guilty and / or being self-critical of their parenting style/ choices compared to 66% of dads.
Proving hindsight really is a wonderful thing, more than half of the parents surveyed (58%) wished they put less pressure on themselves to get everything “right” as a first time parent and although half (50%) don’t think you can ever prepare for being a parent, things do improve.
Nearly half (49%) said their confidence has grown as a parent and nearly 1 in 10 (9%) felt confident from the get-go. Furthermore, since becoming parents, 80% appreciated their own parents more.
Learning to navigate life with a newborn can be tricky and one in ten of those surveyed agreed that a new baby is like welcoming a new roommate – an adjustment period is needed. Perhaps that could be due to the daily challenges parents face.
When talking about parental frustrations and challenges, sleep deprivation was their biggest bugbear. 62% noted this as their number one frustration as a new parent and nearly two fifths (38%) wish they knew how little sleep they would get in the first few months.
