Rising stress is also affecting families in general. 32% parents report that their stress levels are extreme (a level of 8 - 10 on a 10-point scale) and parents overall say they are living with stress levels that exceed their definition of healthy (parents report an average stress level of 6.1 on a 10-point scale while the average healthy level of stress reported by parents is a 3.9). Only 32% of stressed parents feel they are coping with stress.

Ninety-one percent of 1,136 young people ages 8-17 surveyed cite ways they know parents are stressed, largely by their behaviour. These children of stressed parents are stressed too (17 percent vs. 2 percent). Nearly half of preteens (47 percent) and one-third of teens (33 percent) say they feel sad; one third of preteens (36 percent) and 43 percent of teens say they feel worried; and one-quarter (25 percent) of preteens and 38 percent of teens say they feel frustrated when their parents are stressed.

Psychologist Katherine C. Nordal APA ™s executive director for professional practice, said, Even though children know when their parents are stressed and admit that it directly affects them, parents are grossly underestimating the impact that their stress is having on their childrenIt ™s critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they ™re young and still developing behavioural patterns. If children don ™t learn these lessons early on, it could significantly impact their physical health and emotional well-being down the road, especially as they become adults.