Half of all children will live with a parent with poor mental health during their childhood.
12.05.26. Last year Barnardos children’s charity supported more than 1,000 children across its targeted family support services who had experienced living with a parent with poor mental health. Barnardos today published a report focusing on the impact poor parental mental health has on children in Ireland, the prevalence across the country and actions that could be taken to reduce the resulting childhood trauma and harm.
The children’s charity is recommending the Government do three things, address stigma for parents and raise public awareness, increase early intervention and prevention, and record parenting status of all adults in adult mental health services.
Barnardos commissioned Amarach Research to carry out a nationally representative survey of 1000 parents to see the prevalence of the issue across the country.
- Almost half (46%) said their mental health had been poor at some point since having children. Over one in ten parents (12%) said they were currently experiencing poor mental health. An additional 34% of parents said at some point in the past, since having children, their mental health was poor.
- One in five (20%) saying they had experienced other symptoms or conditions affecting mental health wellbeing such as panic attacks or extreme mood swings since becoming parents.
- One quarter of parents reported being burned out most of the time (24%). 95% of parents said they currently experience depression or anxiety at least some of the time with over half (54%) saying they currently felt all of the issues at least some of the time.
- Mothers were two and a half times more likely to say they felt overwhelmed most of the time (25%) compared to fathers (10%) and almost twice as likely to feel anxious most of the time (20% compared to 12%).
The report shows that without adequate supports, the consequences of living in a home with a parent dealing with poor parental mental health can be detrimental to children’s health, and wellbeing, leading to worse mental health, more behavioural problems, lower self-esteem, struggles to build relationships, reduced academic attainment and lower future developmental outcomes.
Out of all 1,000 parents surveyed just under half (44%) said during their time as being parents their mental health had moderately (36%) or substantially (8%) negatively impacted their children.
Parents said:
I have low tolerance and would shout a lot, instead of just pausing and taking a breath and modelling good behaviour, I would find I’m very dis regulated and the consequences is that I fear my child is now not able to regulate.’
Struggle to get out of bed every morning. I am never awake when my daughter goes to school and my son often plays computer games or watches TV beside me until I wake up. This makes me feel really guilty and ashamed. I’m always tired.’
I believe some very simple support would have made a huge difference, just to know that I wasn't the only person feeling a certain way, feeling over whelmed, not knowing if you were doing it right, questioning every decision that you made.'
Of the parents who said their mental health had negatively impacted their children:
- 50% said it led to increased anxiety within their children and 55% said it increased struggles regulating emotions.
- 39% believed it increased children’s struggles with friendships/relationships
- 35% increased difficulties engaging in schools.
- 46% stated their children became less confident and a similar number (42%) more withdrawn and less secure (45%).
- 42% witnessed increased high need behaviour among children
Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly said: ‘Across our services staff regularly support children living in homes with parents struggling with mental health difficulties. Despite the best efforts of parents we witness the negative impact this can have on children’s mental health, wellbeing and development when appropriate supports are not put in place, particularly for those dealing with multiple adversities.
There needs to be a whole family approach adopted around mental health to make sure parents’ mental health is not looked at in isolation from the family around them, and the harm it may be causing. Similarly children and young people’s mental health should not be viewed in isolation from their home environment and the wellbeing of their family around them.’
Recommendations
- Address stigma and raise public awareness – There has been huge progress in helping children and young people feel ok and comfortable talking about their mental health. We now need to make progress helping parents feel comfortable discussing and talking about mental health in the context of being a parent. The government should develop a campaign raising the awareness of parental mental health, the impact on children, and local parenting support services.
- Increased early intervention and prevention – act on commitments to increase access to evidence-based parenting and family support programmes that will enhance children and young people’s wellbeing and parental mental health by increasing funding for intensive family support services working with parents facing poor mental health.
- Adult mental health services – The parenting status of all adults engaged with mental health services should be recorded and a referral offer made to all families with children under 18 to sufficiently funded local family support services.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Report: Parental Mental Health: Impact on Children 2026
For further information, please contact:
Barnardos Press Office: 086 044 5966
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