It’s loneliness awareness week – we can help you connect with other parents

Becoming a parent can involve big changes in your life. If you’re on parental leave you might find you don’t speak to as many people during the day as when you’re at work, or if your friends don’t have children it might seem more difficult to join in with some of the things they do, which means some of your friendships might change.^[1]  

If you feel lonely, you’re not alone 

If you do sometimes feel lonely you are not alone, even the Princess of Wales has recently spoken about feeling isolated as a new mum living in Anglesey, with no family nearby.^[2]  

And a survey carried out in the UK showed that more than half of parents had experienced loneliness, and a fifth said they had felt lonely in the last week.^[3]  

This survey was done in 2017, before the pandemic and although we couldn’t find more recent information about parents' experiences of loneliness other studies suggest more people are feeling lonely now than they did then – if you feel lonely you're definitely not alone.^[4]  

Connecting with other parents – our Facebook community 

We thought we’d ask our Facebook community to share their experiences of loneliness, and the things that help them when they feel lonely.  

If you have any tips to share, please come and talk about them in our community, we know they will help other parents experiencing all the emotions of raising a child.  

To connect with other parents online, and see the experiences and tips parents have shared, join our Facebook community here.  

If you need more support

If you find feelings of loneliness are getting too much, or you don’t know how to overcome them, speak to someone you trust or contact an organisation like the Pandas foundation, a UK-based charity which offers support for parents and carers.  

Want to read more? 

Scroll down to the bottom of the Today page for some articles about parenting and loneliness.  

References: 

[1] Nowland, R., Thomson, G., McNally, L., Smith, T. & Whittaker, K. (2021). Experiencing loneliness in parenthood: a scoping review. Perspectives in Public Health, 141(4), 214-225. 

[2] Barr, S. (2020, 23 January). Kate Middleton felt ‘isolated’ after Prince George’s birth while William was working night shifts. Independent. Kate Middleton felt ‘isolated’ after Prince George’s birth while William was working night shifts | The Independent | The Independent 

[3] Action for Children. It starts with hello: a report looking into the impact of loneliness in children, young people and families. London: Action for Children; 2017 

[4] Marmalade Trust (n.d.). Our guide to loneliness. Loneliness Guide | Marmalade Trust