Are You Dealing With Parent Guilt?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCharacteristicsCausesImpactCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Characteristics

Causes

Impact

Coping

Close

As a parent, do you sometimes feel like you’re not doing enough for your children? Do you feel guilty about having to leave your child and go towork? Do you look at other parents who seem to have it all together and wish that were you? If so, you may be experiencing parent guilt, which is also sometimes referred to as maternal guilt, mother guilt, mom guilt, or dad guilt.

Parent guilt is when a parent feels torn between their responsibilities as a parent and something else that is competing for their attention, such as work or other personal interests, saysSabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and professor at Yeshiva University.

There is constant tension between parental and professional/personal roles, as when parents are working or away from their children they feel guilty about not spending time with their children, and when they are with their children they often feel guilty about neglecting work or other responsibilities, Dr. Romanoff explains.

This article explores some of the causes and characteristics of parent guilt, as well as some coping strategies that may be helpful.

Characteristics of Parent Guilt

Dr. Romanoff describes some of the characteristics of parentguilt:

Parent guilt can cause you to feel like a failure at work and at home.

While anyone can experience parent guilt, these are some groups of people that may be more susceptible to it, according to Dr. Romanoff:

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Impact of Parent Guilt

The impact of parent guilt can vary depending on how you manage it, says Dr. Romanoff. Below, she outlines some of the ways parent guilt can affect you:

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Coping With Parent Guilt

Dr. Romanoff suggests some strategies that can help you cope with parent guilt:

What to Do If You Disagree With Your Partner About Having Kids

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Miller CL, Strachan SM.Understanding the role of mother guilt and self-compassion in health behaviors in mothers with young children.Women Health. 2020;60(7):763-775. doi:10.1080/03630242.2020.1713966

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