The Daily Stress of Parenthood: Inside the Joolz Study Breaking the Silence.
The idea for this piece came to me after a conversation with a friend, a mum of two, who said, half-jokingly, “I think my baseline mood now is just… tense.”
We laughed about it and moved on. But the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like she wasn't describing a passing feeling. She was describing the emotional temperature of modern parenthood.
A few days later, I read new global research commissioned by Joolz, the stroller brand known for pushing the conversation toward real, not romanticised, parenthood. Their study, one of the largest of its kind, across eight countries and more than 2,000 parents, revealed that 84% of parents experience stress every single day.
Daily. Not just in the newborn fog. Not just during teething. Not just in “busy seasons.”
Every. Single. Day.
And for a moment, the collective strain so many parents carry started to make sense, not as an individual failing, but as a cultural reality.
By Alice Codford, in Partnership with JOOLZ
The Unspoken Truth of Modern Parenting
Parenthood today has become a paradox. We’re living in a time with more resources, more information, more “expert advice,” more parenting content… and yet somehow less support, less community, and less space to simply admit:
“I’m struggling.”
The study revealed that:
76% of parents feel comforted when other parents speak honestly about their struggles
58% wish they had someone to talk to when they feel stressed
We want honesty. We crave connection. But we often feel judged, by strangers, by other parents, by the quiet comparison game online, even by ourselves. So parents swallow their stress and call it normal. But normal isn’t the same as healthy.
The Daily Stress We’ve Stopped Questioning
The Joolz research found that:
73% worry they’re not doing enough for their child
61.5% worry about their child’s health and development
60.2% feel financial strain
58.5% aren’t getting enough sleep
58% struggle to juggle responsibilities
48% feel emotionally overwhelmed by their child’s behaviour
48% report frequent conflict with a partner or co-parent
47% second-guess themselves because of social media
42% feel judged by others
This isn’t just “parenting is hard sometimes.” It shows that many parents are navigating a steady level of pressure day after day. And while the research reflects all parents, the reality is that stress can show up differently depending on your role, the support you have, and the expectations placed on you.
For mothers, it can feel intensified by invisible labour and identity pressures. For fathers, it can show up in the tension of being expected to “help” rather than co-carry. For single parents, it’s often doubled. For new parents, it can feel like a crash course no one prepared them for.
But the point is: the stress is everywhere, and most of us are living with it quietly.
The Research Matters
We spend so much time talking about the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, a period that shapes brain development, emotional security, and long-term wellbeing. But what about the parents in those first 1,000 days? Their wellbeing? Their mental load? Their capacity?
If parents are stressed daily, and the data shows they are, then the environment surrounding the child is affected, too. Not because parents are failing, but because the expectations placed on them are ever increasing.
This is why research like Joolz’s feels important. It names what so many parents have been trying to say quietly: Parenthood isn’t just beautiful or joyful or meaningful, it’s mentally demanding in a way society still underestimates.
And naming it is the first step toward changing it.
Why Joolz Is Leaning Into This Conversation
Joolz could have chosen to release another glossy campaign about “the joys of parenting.” Instead, they commissioned large-scale research that exposes the weight parents are carrying every single day, and then they built something tangible in response. Their initiative, The Parenting Hideout, is designed to offer exactly what the research revealed parents are missing: real community, honest conversations, expert guidance, and a place to exhale. A space where parents can feel seen rather than scrutinised.
It’s an approach rooted not in parenting as performance, but parenting as it is actually lived. Because parents don’t need another reminder to “cherish every moment.” They need support. They need truth. They need connection, the kind that eases the load rather than adding to it.
If you’re interested in exploring the support, conversations, and expert guidance Joolz is offering, you can visit The Parenting Hideout — their growing online and in-person community for real, honest parenthood — at joolz.com.
