Being Afraid of and for One’s Parents: The Lived Experience of Children Exposed to Parental Burnout

Background: Parental burnout is a state of extreme exhaustion that is detrimental to family life. There is some evidence, albeit limited, that children of exhausted parents are at risk of neglect or abuse. The children’s lived experience remains an underinvestigated issue. This qualitative and participatory study aimed to explore children’s and adolescents’ perceptions and experience of parental burnout, as well as the resources they identify as available to assist them. Methods: We interviewed 24 children of exhausted parents, including children typically developing (n = 17), children with illness/disability (n = 3), and children with learning/behavioral difficulties (n = 4). We used interactive data collection tools, adapted to the participants’ age. The interviews were followed by a participatory validation seminar. Results: We evidenced a high emotional burden experienced by children exposed to parental burden. The children conveyed feeling insecure about what happens, perceiving a mismatch between their own needs and those of their parents, and being afraid both of and for their parents. Conclusions: Our results call for an increased recognition of parental burnout as not only a personal or family problem, but a possibly important societal and public health concern, with implications for child prevention and health promotion.