Most Parents Have Gone Into Debt For Their Children—And It’s Stressing Them Out

Parents are going into debt to support their children, and it’s harming their mental and physical health.

Six in 10 parents recently surveyed by National Debt Relief, a debt settlement organization, said they have gone into debt to provide for their children. Nearly half of these parents say their debt is becoming unmanageable, and more than eight in 10 said they prioritize taking care of their children over paying down their debt.

Credit card balances are the most common type of unsecured debt held by American parents, with 42% of them carrying an average balance of $14,556. Medical debt is also common, with 27% of parents holding held an average of $12,316 debt related to health care bills. A quarter of parents had personal loans at an average amount of $15,294.

Cost of Living Crunch

The holidays and back-to-school season are when parents are most likely to incur more debt and use “buy now, pay later” services. The parents who used “buy now, pay later” owe $7,427 on average to these services.

More than half also said the rising cost of living makes it harder to pay for their child’s needs. In particular, increasing medical costs have made doctor visits and prescription drug costs more unaffordable. More than four in ten parents said they went into debt for doctor visits, and 42% said they’ve taken on debt this year to pay out of pocket for their child’s prescriptions.

As higher education costs continue to rise, half of parents who are in debt fear they won’t be able to afford their child’s college education. Already, older borrowers have the highest delinquency rates, which is likely attributed to an increase in parents taking out student loans to help their children pay for their education.

“Debt disrupts more than just finances. It reshapes parenting,” Natalia Brown, chief consumer affairs and creditor relations officer at National Debt Relief, said in a press release. “Debt is quietly dictating the choices parents make for their families every day, from skipping meals to shelving college savings plans for their children.”

Lingering Debt Is Harming Parents

Not only is adding debt hurting many parents’ financial state, but it also makes them twice as likely to neglect their physical and mental health, and half as likely to skip meals.

The average parent surveyed said they stress about their finances and debt five times a week, and 44% said they are more stressed about their debt than their child’s health or their relationship with them. Additionally, almost half said they worry more about their debt than their parenting.