Inflation Is Hurting Everyone — But For Parents, It’s Taking A Deeper Toll

With the economy changing, prices rising and people feeling the pressure of all this uncertainty in their day-to-day lives, it’s no secret that families are concerned about their finances. However, these concerns could be impacting some people more deeply. New research found that the mental and emotional cost of rising prices may be landing heaviest on the shoulders of parents — especially mothers and primary caregivers.

In the MoneyLion x Mastercard “Health is Wealth” report, 84% of parents with children under 18 said inflation has negatively impacted their well-being, compared to 59% of nonparents. For many families, rising costs are not just a budget concern; they also trigger guilt, burnout and health strain.

In addition to the tactical stress of managing money right now, some parents are starting to question everything, from how they’re raising their kids to how to manage their own reactions so that this financial moment doesn’t create a ripple effect on their children’s future relationship with money.

As I work with mostly female entrepreneurs moving through financial trauma, it’s normal to encounter moments where emotion takes the driver’s seat. Thought spirals might be rooted in truth, but they are inflated by fear. Right now, financial stress is heightening those distortions — often without people realizing it.

“One of the most common ways in which financial challenges produce stress is that they incite catastrophizing,” said Dr. Ashwini Nadkarni, a psychiatrist and clinical researcher. “People may quickly jump to picturing the worst possible outcome and thinking there is a higher likelihood of it happening than there is.”

Highly emotional responses can also come from when parents double down on efforts to keep their income aligned with rising expenses. Corritta Lewis, a parent of a 6-year-old, shared how the weight of trying to “do it all” in this economy shows up emotionally.

“There is a constant questioning if I am doing the right thing,” Lewis said. “With the cost of living increasing so much the last 3 years, I am working more than ever. I’ve caught myself saying, ‘not right now, I am working,’ and it hit me like a brick that he’s going to stop asking me to play with him if I keep saying ‘not right now.’”

Although it’s often a subconscious reaction, financial anxiety can surface in the smallest everyday moments, like Alli Kushner, founder of playdate scheduling app BeeKyn, said of her response to her toddler wasting food.

“I ran out to our corner grocery the other night for a half gallon of milk, and it was almost $10,” she said. “So when my toddler takes two sips and then dumps the rest in the sink or takes one bite of an egg and chucks the rest on the floor, there’s this internal voice that kicks in, like, ‘Do you know how much that cost?’ But of course she doesn’t because she’s still learning cause and effect. Cost per ounce is a whole other level.”

These reactions are completely natural. But they also reflect a deeper truth: When we’re stretched thin, we’re more likely to attach emotional weight to things we usually wouldn’t. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of when our reactions are based on financial stress rather than intentional parenting values.

“I try to remind myself that waste at her age isn’t intentional or malicious, it’s part of learning,” Kushner added. “I want to teach my kids to be mindful without tying food to guilt. So I serve smaller portions, save leftovers when I can, and try my hardest to keep the bigger picture in mind.”

While groceries may be the first thing that comes to mind under inflation pressure, parents are also making tough decisions around key pillars of their child’s development and well-being, particularly education and housing.

Angela Simoes, an independent communications consultant and mom in California, is already having conversations about college and whether it might make more sense to send her daughter overseas.

“Even paying for a public state school has gotten extremely expensive, so we are planting the seeds of attending university abroad (Portugal specifically) with our daughter,” she said. “We have dual citizenship so it would definitely be possible for her, and certainly more affordable for us!”

Her family has already made one move in search of a better quality of life. But the financial trade-offs keep adding up: “Taxes and insurance continue going up and it’s scary,” Simoes said.

However, these financial calculations aren’t unique to higher education. Mandi St. Germaine, a mother of four, is also grappling with how rising costs are reshaping daily decisions.

“We are facing decisions like housing, education, and everyday lifestyle choices when it comes to how we move forward based on the economy,” she said. “The declining quality of public education in some areas has us turning to private schools, but the fees and tuition are significant.”

As a curriculum coach, St. Germaine sees firsthand how this stress plays out inside schools: “I see a decline in resources, burnt-out teachers, and growing needs of the students. It’s hard not to feel the weight of that both professionally and personally.”

But the pressure may be even more intense for parents of larger families like Richard Robbins, who recently welcomed his ninth child. For him, the concern stretches beyond education to the foundation of financial stability.

“Sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking, ‘What do I need to do to keep this family from sinking financially?’”

Robbins and his wife have previously built and sold two businesses, and were optimistic about launching their newest family endeavor. But running a business in today’s economy has brought unexpected hurdles.

“Our suppliers are consistently out of stock of popular items. Prices have risen to unreasonable levels and often without warning. AI has changed much of the landscape for doing marketing, which means we’re having to re-tool to catch back up to speed.”

Still, he’s trying to maintain optimism and model resilience for his kids. “We’re looking at it as the next challenge that we have to overcome, and that should produce a family full of better-skilled and more resilient people,” he said.

While many parents are trying to figure out how to navigate this financial moment, one thing is clear: The pressure to provide and protect, both financially and emotionally, takes priority.

Parents are doing the math in their heads while managing the emotions in their bodies, often without the space or support for either of these things. They’re trying to teach resilience without transferring fear, and that balance can feel impossibly shaky.

Mental health professionals say this emotional strain is both common and treatable, but only if we acknowledge it. Nadkarni noted that unchecked stress often leads to catastrophizing, making worst-case scenarios feel inevitable. She recommends creating proactive plans and practicing “cognitive restructuring” by gently challenging those spirals and returning to the present moment.

In addition, Mayron Piccolo, a psychologist and lecturer at Harvard, said caring for your own nervous system is essential to caring for your kids. That includes naming what you’re feeling, staying connected to others, and engaging in small, grounding acts of control, even if it’s just deciding what’s for dinner.

Because when everything feels unstable, the most radical thing a parent can do is slow down, center themselves and take one grounded step at a time. Inflation may be out of parents’ hands — but how we respond to it and how we protect our peace while raising the next generation is where our power lies.