Self-growth
Business & Career
Success
Communication
Healing
Relationships
Psychology
HappinessKey takeaways:
Nearly half of parents (49%) spend two hours or less each week on personal development, with 12% admitting they have no time at all to focus on themselves.
Prioritizing parenting over their careers, 57% have turned down opportunities, with 18% feeling that having children has negatively impacted their career prospects.
Some 51% of parents miss the freedom to travel, while 42% have sacrificed sleep to care for their children.
Some 27% admit they’re counting down to the day their children turn 18, with 7% wishing they had never had kids. Yet, while parenting can limit free time, it also provides numerous opportunities for growth and development.
There’s no question that raising children is highly rewarding – watching them grow, learn, and develop, and knowing that your hard work made them who they are – but it doesn’t always feel that way.
When the house is a constant mess and bedtimes are a battle, forget about sitting down with a book, taking a course, or teaching yourself a new skill. Time and energy are constantly in short supply, but that doesn't mean you're not learning, developing, and improving.
Headway app surveyed 2,000 parents on the challenges of balancing personal growth with parenthood, as well as the feelings of loss and longing that often accompany having kids.
Yet, while difficult through bleary eyes and a tired mind, it’s worth reminding yourself that parenting brings new experiences – and with them, opportunities to learn, grow, and improve.
Parenting vs progress: Finding time for yourself in parenthood
Parenthood comes with few breaks – There’s always meals to cook, messes to clean, and meltdowns to calm, which leaves little time for yourself. Nearly half of parents spend just two hours or less each week on personal growth, while 12% admit there’s no time at all in their busy schedules.
And it doesn’t get any easier with experience. In fact, the more kids you have, the less time you get for yourself. Some 17% of parents with three or more children struggle to find even an hour a week for personal growth, compared to 7% of those raising one child.
Running on empty, 25% of parents squeeze in a little post-bedtime productivity, while 18% set their alarm early to steal some me-time. Likewise, for 22%, personal growth only happens when parenthood allows, with short breaks that should be spent resting used for self-improvement instead.
With time management for parents often meaning parent first and cram everything else in later, it’s no surprise that 50% say having children has delayed or even hijacked their personal growth.
But parents often underestimate just how much they’re learning and achieving. Navigating a supermarket meltdown is a lesson in crisis management, every bedtime story told in toddler-friendly terms is communication training, and every decision made while raising a child is evidence of the leadership skills you’ve built.
These experiences aren’t just useful in parenthood – they’ve vital soft skills you’ll take back into your career.
Diapers and deadlines: The impact of having children on careers
Between diaper changes, school drop-offs, extracurriculars, meal prep, and bedtime routines, raising kids is a full-time job.
Already working more than the typical nine-to-five, 57% of parents had to turn down career opportunities because time wouldn’t allow.
Poor work-life balance typically means too much work and not enough life. But that’s not the case for many parents. With raising kids a relentless job, it’s often work that takes a back seat – with 18% admitting they feel as if having children has ruined their career prospects.
When you become a parent, your priorities shift. Your career is no longer everything, and your child becomes your primary concern. Unsurprisingly, 34% of parents say their personal ambition has dipped, while 7% admit it has vanished entirely.
Some 38% of parents believe they would be further ahead in life without their children, but it depends on how you look at it. Further ahead in their career? Maybe.
But not in maturity, wisdom, and fulfillment. Parenthood isn’t life’s roadblock – It’s just a different path, and it’s equally as rich and rewarding.
Me We: How do kids impact our personal lives?
Parenthood comes with perks, but it also comes with sacrifices: 51% of parents miss the freedom to travel, and 38% yearn for their personal hobbies. Likewise, for 25%, even something as simple as taking care of their body and mind is a luxury.
When parenting takes over our schedules, our social lives (59%) are the first thing to go, with sleep (42%) a close second. And self-care for parents? For 23%, there simply isn’t time for it.
When socializing becomes an afterthought, relationship strain is inevitable. Some 29% of parents say parenthood has caused tension with their partner, 28% feel themselves growing distant from their friends, and 26% admit they’ve even lost touch with themselves.
Loss of identity is surprisingly common, with 19% of parents feeling it all the time, and 49% experiencing it at least occasionally. Parenthood brings profound change, and while there’s joy in watching something you created grow into an amazing little human, it can also feel like the person you once were is gone.
Yet, these sacrifices aren’t in vain. Parenthood stretches your patience, demands resilience, and builds empathy in ways few others experiences can. The lack of free time can make you focus on the negatives, but what you gain is strength, determination, and a renewed sense of purpose – qualities that last long after the terrible twos (and yes, they do pass).
Sleepless, stressed, and second-guessing: Is parental regret normal?
Parenthood is often painted as life’s greatest joy, but not every parent sees it that way. Some 24% wish they had waited longer before starting a family. Likewise, for some, the regret runs deeper, with 7% wishing they had never had children at all.
Why? Because raising a family is hard work and often means hitting pause on your personal dreams. Some 46% of parents regret not ticking off certain goals or life milestones before parenthood reshaped their priority lists, with 14% admitting they have many ambitions left unfulfilled.
If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Parental burnout – and the feelings of longing and regret that come with it – is more common than many admit.
Even those picture-perfect caregivers who claim to live the dream life on social media aren’t fooling anyone, with 48% of parents skeptical of too-good-to-be-true portrayals of parenthood.
Longing for peace and quiet, free time, and a good night’s sleep, 27% of parents admit they’re secretly counting down the days until their children turn 18.
However, chances are you won’t have to wait that long for freedom. It may feel like your parental identity is now you, and you will never have a moment to focus on your personal development again.
But the constancy of parenthood isn’t forever. There will come a time when they head off to school, have sleepovers without you, and turn into moody teenagers who spend every moment hiding in their room.
In the meantime? Even small steps can make a big difference. When they go down for a nap or you’re taking a quick bath, take those moments as an opportunity to recharge and invest in yourself.
Even setting aside 15 minutes a day for self-care and personal growth can clean your mind, keep you moving forward, and make parenthood feel a little less overwhelming.
Methodology: To create this study, researchers from Headway app surveyed 2,000 adults who have children. The survey was conducted in September 2025.
About Headway
With over 50 million users in 170+ countries, the Headway app is the world's most downloaded book summary app. It offers 15-minute audio and text summaries of nonfiction bestsellers, as well as daily microlearning sessions and gamified challenges. The app is designed to help people achieve their self-development goals. Headway received the Editor's Choice award from the US App Store and constantly hits the App Store home screen as App of the Day.
