Let’s just be honest for a moment. You will spot a subtle form of weariness in the eyes of any parent you’re familiar with. It’s a tired that won’t get better without a long, deep sleep. And going hand-in-hand with that exhaustion is a fierce unbreakable dedication. It is the reality – complex, beautiful and utterly exhausting – that the Global Day of Parents is intended to celebrate.
It’s not just another commercial holiday celebrating greeting cards, this is actually celebrated on June 1st of every year. It is a globally recognized United Nations’ event. It is a day that calls us to the task of halting and giving recognition to the vast, unseen and unsung work of human society: the raising of the next generation.
The Global Day of Parents was officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. It comes as a surprise, but it is the same day as the International Day for Protection of Children! The reality is messy and unfiltered.The truth is raw and unvarnished.
Parenting these days seems very much like being caught up in the sanitized, perfect parenting we see on social media. Complementary outfits, well packed organic lunches, happy family holidays. However, real parenting is in the trenches!
It’s the 3:00 AM temperature rise because the prescription shop is shut. It’s the panic that comes when you run out of money just enough to pay for your rent, your mortgage, your utilities, and a new pair of shoes because the old pair is too tight. It’s the secret to knowing how to be there at a school play and finish a job with a demanding boss before they’re done. It’s an ongoing, never-ending juggling act. You honour parents by recognising that this is a challenging role, not always with an instruction booklet and never with a break.
The Modern Pressure Cooker
It’s also important to acknowledge the stresses of parenting that other generations haven’t known. Parenting today is quite different and truly in uncharted waters.
- The Digital Battlefield: Today’s parents are the first to face raising children with the smartphone and social media algorithms and cyberbullying. It’s always a tedious and neverending conversation about screen time and digital safety.
- Economic Strain: The single earner household is mostly a thing of the past now with escalating housing and education expenses and inflation. The typical family is a dual-income family, where the parents both work jobs, one paid and one unpaid, after work.Parents work second jobs after work, paid and unpaid jobs are the norm.
- Awareness of the high mental cost of being a parent is increasing. Burnout is a very frequent occurrence. The parent(s) should behave as if they have no children and the children should behave as if they have no parents. It’s a tall order.
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Parenthood is available in a variety of forms
As we celebrate this day it is important to keep in mind that “parents” is a broad term. There are many different types of families, one example is mom, dad and two children.
Let’s shout out loud to the single parents doing two jobs a day, every day, for years, here and everywhere. We should respect the adoptive and foster parents who did choose to take the initiative and offer a safe haven to a child who needed it. The grandparents, the aunts and uncles who have taken over the parenting role of a second generation must be acknowledged.
What Real Support Looks Like?
A good beginning is to say ‘thank you’ on the 1st of June. It’s always nice to receive a text message or even having over a pot of coffee. However, if we are to uphold the spirit of the Global Day of Parents, we must go beyond mere appreciation and move on to concrete and structural support. It’s not enough for parents to simply be patted on the back, they need a transformation for their life to be manageable.
- Paid Family Leave: Nobody should be forced to decide between maintaining a successful career and getting better from giving birth or holding a newborn baby.
- Accessible Childcare: Accessible Childcare should not be more than a family’s mortgage. It must be seen as a necessary social service and not a luxury.
- Flexible Work Environments: Allow staff to have lives outside their place of work. Working parents can’t live without flexible hours and remote work options.
- Mental Health Resources: Normalise parents seeking therapy and getting into support groups, without stigma attached to the seeking help.
The Bottom Line
Finally, the Global Day of Parents is a mirror to the society. It reminds us how we’re doing to our people who are literally raising our future. It’s a day to honor all the unsung heroes in our lives and communities.
If you’re a parent reading this, you’re seen. It is the late nights, sacrifices, and patience that count. You are doing the most important job in the world even when you feel you’re failing.
If you’re not a parent, take some time today to observe. If possible, call your immediate family members. Baby-sit for a friend so they can take a nap or just sit on a wall for an hour with peace. Take a hot meal to the new parents next door. The best thing one can do to commemorate the Global Day of Parents is to, well, behave like a village of parents.
