Importance of Mental Health Awareness for Students’ Parents

With so many school districts shifting to digital models of learning, it is critical that parental mental health and the overall importance of mental health awareness are part of the supports and services made available to students.

Research suggests a positive correlation between teacher burnout, fatigue, and lower mental wellbeing with lower student academic performance. This became the basis for a new study that analyzed parents’ burnout, fatigue, and overall mental health as it impacted their child’s academic performance. According to the findings, cases where parents experienced greater anxiety, frustration, and decreased mental wellbeing their child’s academic performance suffered.

These findings should be worrisome to school districts that are quickly shifting to full-time online schooling. It is not just curriculum and assessments that must dominate the planning, nor is it student social, emotional, and mental health supports. It is more critical than ever that parental mental health is integrated into the school’s continuous planning and goal-setting conversations.