While the holiday season brings joy and makes festive family time, it can also become stressful, as one in five parents experiences high holiday stress to the point of negatively affecting the children, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.
The extra shopping and holiday tasks accounted for most of the stresses for parents (31 percent), followed by keeping family healthy amid the COVID-19 case uptick (30 percent) and balancing household finances (29 percent). Also causing stress were holiday preparations, including planning for family gatherings (23 percent), making special holiday meals (22 percent), and getting criticism from family members when negotiating holiday plans (14 percent).
