The power of parent community support groups to boost mental health
Sponsored by Graco UK • Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week – the theme is parent community
I have four kids and four daily drop-offs, which leaves me approximately 12 minutes per day (well, actually, four hours) to run a business, get fit, and maintain some form of mental sanity. However, something usually gives, and it tends to be me.
I swapped my secure, predictable and painfully tedious legal career for a life promising more flexibility and freedom. And while I wonder whether I’ve just exchanged one boss for four smaller, more demanding ones, I still wouldn’t trade it for the world – even if my ‘office’ is wherever I can find space in the house amongst the constant sea of noise. For proof of the beloved craziness, click here.
What people rarely mention about going freelance or starting your own business, especially as a parent, is the loneliness that often accompanies it. It’s the “am I the only one drowning in invoices while living in a sea of mess?” feeling. It’s the anxiety spike when your toddler’s nursery calls mid-meeting (again) and says she’s coughed and now needs to come home. (Cancel that PM meeting – again!) It’s the partner calling to say he’s going to be late again, and now you have to figure out how to manage four pick-ups, two deadlines, cook meals, keep the house manageable, and deal with clients who are rightfully chasing for their work.
The ONS says that 27% of UK adults feel lonely “always, often or some of the time”. Among small-business owners, 56% report poor mental health, with anxiety and isolation topping the charts.
Since 2020, about one in four self-employed Brits joined the hustling game and the headcount of self-employed mums jumped 9% to 601,000 in 2023 alone. It turned out that conventional jobs still didn’t align with the school run and nearly 1 in 5 UK mums quit or considered quitting employment altogether because the childcare/work maths just wasn’t mathing.
In our recent Hand2Hold survey (to be published soon as a study), over a quarter of parents reported feeling isolated, and 85.9% of mothers stated that quick access to mental health and community support was their top priority.
So it turns out, I’m not alone.
The good news? A parent community can fix or at least minimise a lot of the isolation and anxiety us parent entrepreneurs feel almost daily.
You can’t build something incredible entirely on your own. You need community. You need people who understand why you’re typing with one hand and nursing a baby with the other – why you’re staring at an email repeatedly, but your brain says nope because your child has woken up again for the nth time that night.
A parent community isn’t just nice to have—it’s a lifeline for most of us. And in this article, we will unpack why:
- There is a surge in parents turning to self-employment, yet feeling more isolated than ever
- How a parent community can be one of the biggest pillars of support to combat loneliness and overwhelm
- How campaigns like Graco’s focus on Maternal Health Week (5-11 May) and Mental Health Awareness (12-18 May, theme: Community) spotlights exactly why these support circles matter
- Simple ways you can join or even create your parent tribe today, plus how to join the conversation on @graco_uk all month and share your story with #maternalmentalhealthmatters
So, grab your (probably reheated) coffee and let’s dive in!
The ‘Parentpreneur’ boom—why half the country now works from the kitchen table
Remote and hybrid work have become incredibly common – in fact 44% of UK workers now either work from home or do a mix of home and office.
And among these, a huge number are parents who’ve traded commutes for the convenience of home. Whether it’s freelancing during nap time or running an Etsy shop after the school run, the “parentpreneur” movement is in full swing now, so much so, my business partner and I have started a new YouTube channel called TechTalksZone where we review AI and tech tools that enhance productivity for parent entrepreneurs. Post-pandemic, many mums and dads realised they could balance career ambitions with family life – as long as they had flexibility (and a steady supply of caffeine). It’s no wonder nearly half the country’s workforce is working from the kitchen table in one way or another, redefining what a “home office” looks like in 2025.
Working mums are turning side-hustles into full-time gigs too. In the last year alone, the number of “side hustlers” in Britain jumped 20% (to about 460,000), and mums accounted for 21% of those side businesses (up 8% since the year before). The dads are in on it as well – while exact figures for fathers aren’t singled out in this stat, overall self-employment is rising across the board, hitting 4.4 million self-employed Brits by late 2024. The reasons vary: some parents were pushed out by a tough job market or the cost-of-living crunch, others were pulled by the allure of being their own boss. But the trend is clear – parentpreneurs are becoming a formidable part of the economy.
The power of parent community
I’m glad I found this group!
When I first dove into self-employment, a part of me felt relieved that I didn’t have to take the tube or face my boss anymore. However, panic soon set in when I realised I also had to work to get paid – no more regular monthly income, sick pay or annual holidays. Yes, finally I had flexibility, but suddenly I also felt isolation and anxiety. However, throughout my 14 years as a blogger, I’ve genuinely never experienced a more supportive and uplifting community than the one formed by parent bloggers.
Recently, I’ve been actively trying to minimise my time using Facebook groups for solace, especially as WhatsApp became the main channel for client communication. It got me thinking: Why not create a dedicated WhatsApp community specifically for bloggers, particularly parents juggling the relentless demands of work and family life? And thus, the Built for Blogging Community—affectionately known as BBC—was born.
BBC now proudly hosts a tight-knit yet thriving group of around 60 passionate community members, with 21 active chats, spanning topics from general blogger advice to niche support like our ‘Neurospicy Talk’ group. Here, parents openly discuss managing their own neurodiverse minds—or those of their kids—which adds an extra layer of complexity (and sometimes creativity!) to our already chaotic days.
Since launching BBC, the community has buzzed daily with vibrant discussions, sharing invaluable productivity hacks, practical tips on balancing childcare alongside growing businesses, and genuine emotional support on tougher days.
“This group is amazing. I’m glad I found it—I keep telling my husband how grateful I am!”
It wasn’t just a passing comment; it was in response to discovering a new SEO tool shared within our chat, something that significantly boosted her blog traffic. It’s practical, supportive, and exactly why community matters so much.
Then there was the parent who charmingly joked that her toddler was her unofficial “quality control manager” for testing homemade cupcake recipes. Instead of raised eyebrows, the group responded enthusiastically with recipe tweaks and promotion strategies—after all, who better to understand juggling intricate blog work with Peppa Pig blaring in the background than fellow parent entrepreneurs?
These interactions are daily proof that this isn’t merely an online group—it’s a lifeline. Another mum confided during a particularly tough week:
“Hey, sorry for the non-bloggy chat but I’m really struggling…I don’t really know who else I can talk to.”
The response was instant and heartfelt:
“Chat away we’re all here…You’ve got a lot going on. Be kind to yourself.”
Some parents are suffering real life-altering challenges and sometimes a parent community outlet is all they have:
I live in a foreign country where I just about get by day to day with the language barriers. I have one person who I would call a friend locally. This community has given me a group of people, where I may not always have something to say but feel I am in the conversation. Its brought life back to me if that makes sense. When I do have something to say or a problem with blogging or another side hustle, they are always supportive and uplifting.
I’m a single parent who has not got many options for childcare so most evenings once my child is asleep I am home alone and turn to the online community for a chat. What often starts as a discussion about a work related topic ends up being a group chat which becomes a huge part of your life. I’m glad that I’m part of supportive and motivational communities because instead of idle gossip and black hole doom scrolling of social media, we are all productive and have crafted feasible opportunities to turn our hobbies and passions into ways to earn additional income. My biggest cheerleaders are the online community.
This community has helped me through the toughest of times. I’ve met some ladies who I can turn to no matter what and have helped me through the darkest of times – my dad died the day after my second child was born and a group of them were there for me, even miles away, to be a shoulder to cry on and they bought us takeaways and vouchers for ready meals just to take some of the stress off as well as buying something for my oldest who was going through such a mix of emotions at the time and didn’t know how to deal with them. Most of my closest friends are people I’ve met through blogging; some I see often and some I’ve actually never met IRL but I wouldn’t be without them.
A small group of my now best friends are from blogging. They’ve been there through my lonely times and hard times, we can talk about anything and the support is there. We don’t talk every day but when we do it’s right from where we left off. I don’t know where I would be without them over the last few years x
I started my blog when my daughter was just about to leave primary school and I felt sort of redundant as no more school runs etc. then first term into her new secondary school she became ill with a chronic illness. This gave me a lifeline as she became bedbound. I found a great community and made new friends on here as we navigated a new life. It gave me the chance also to share the real story of living with a chronic illness. Then Feb this year my husband suddenly collapsed and died with no warning. I would be totally lost without the support of both my blogging friends and also readers.
These friendships and interactions may be digital, but their impact on mental health and daily wellbeing is profoundly real. According to recent research by the Mental Health Foundation, community support directly reduces anxiety and can significantly lessen symptoms of depression. Given that nearly half (49%) of UK freelancers regularly experience loneliness and isolation (IPSE, 2023), communities like ours aren’t just nice-to-haves—they’re essential.
Why a parent community equals sanity (Graco knows it too!)
The Mental Health Foundation highlights that our connections to others play a pivotal role in safeguarding mental health, something we instinctively know within our BBC circles. In fact, research consistently shows that community support significantly reduces anxiety and symptoms of depression (Mental Health Foundation, 2023).
This May, Graco’s dedicated campaign perfectly highlights why community support is crucial for parental wellbeing. Graco is actively supporting Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (5–11 May) and Mental Health Awareness Week (12–18 May), whose theme this year is ‘Community’. Their focus mirrors what we parent bloggers know all too well—that parenting was never meant to be done alone. It genuinely takes a village—virtual or otherwise—to support the wellbeing of parents navigating life’s daily challenges.
Graco is also proudly partnering with organisations like PANDAS Foundation, the UK’s leading Postnatal Depression (PND) awareness and support charity. PANDAS provides vital services like their dedicated helpline and WhatsApp chat (available daily from 8am to 10pm UK time) to support parents experiencing anxiety, depression, or overwhelm. Their work underlines why accessible mental health resources and community networks matter enormously in safeguarding parental mental health.
From my experience in our Built for Blogging Community, having reliable support networks transforms how parents manage day-to-day stressors. The small things—like getting quick reassurance when your toddler interrupts a client call, or practical advice for handling a particularly difficult parenting day—are often what keeps us going.
When Graco reached out to me, they emphasised a crucial question:
“What does community really mean to you, and how does the blogger space enhance this?”
For me, community means having a judgement-free zone, full of parents who completely understand the intricacies of trying to maintain a professional identity alongside parenting. The blogging space uniquely supports this because it naturally fosters connection and genuine empathy. Bloggers don’t just share advice; they share vulnerability, struggles, and heartfelt encouragement, creating real bonds despite physical distance.
Over the years, through my blog and now the BBC, I’ve witnessed firsthand how powerful these connections can be. I’ve seen members pull each other out of isolation, share resources that genuinely boost productivity, and offer emotional support during deeply personal hardships. Our community is proof that digital spaces can meaningfully combat loneliness, making parent entrepreneurship sustainable and fulfilling.
What Graco’s campaign means for you
This May, Graco invites you to join the conversation. They’re running expert-led discussions and sharing inspiring parent stories over on their Instagram account @graco_uk. Throughout the month, Graco aims to amplify parent voices and experiences, reminding us that community connection is vital to mental health and overall wellbeing.
You’re invited to:
- Follow @graco_uk on Instagram for expert tips, and insightful conversations around community support.
- Follow @motherhooddiaries on Instagram too as we’ll be sharing their stories on our space too.
- Check out The Graco Village for tips on and links to helpful articles to experts and resources
- Share your own story using #maternalmentalhealthmatters to connect with others and reinforce that no parent is alone in this journey.
Simple ways to join or create your own parent tribe
So, feeling inspired to tap into the power of community? Good—because if you take just one thing away from this article, let it be this:
You don’t have to do this alone.
Here’s how you can find—or build—your own parent support network:
Jump into existing online groups
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel (we’re too tired for that anyway). Platforms like Facebook still host brilliant parent blogger groups, but WhatsApp communities are really where it’s at now.
With WhatsApp Communities rolled out across the UK, it has never been easier to stay connected 24/7, straight from your phone. No logging into a portal, no endless refreshing—just real conversations, real quick.
This is exactly how our Built for Blogging Community kicked off—one WhatsApp message at a time. Fast forward and we’re a buzzing hive of productivity tips, pep talks, and the occasional “I need to lie down in a dark room” check-ins.
Attend virtual events — or even real-life ones!
Not every brilliant conversation happens in a group chat (even though, yes, our memes are pretty epic). Sometimes, the best inspiration comes from hearing real experts share their stories—live, unfiltered, and from the heart.
Charities like the PANDAS Foundation offer brilliant virtual support groups, Zoom calls, and even WhatsApp peer circles for parents navigating anxiety, postnatal depression, or just… life. It’s real support, without the need to find childcare or put on real trousers. Bliss.
Also, if you’re feeling brave and can make it, real-life events can be just as amazing, if not more so.
Recently, I stepped out from behind the screen and attended the Women in Tech SEO Festival and Tech Show London 2025—and honestly, it was mind-blowing.
Meeting like-minded people in real life reminded me that even though we live in a hyper-digital world, nothing replaces genuine human connection. The smiles, the shared laughs over imposter syndrome, the spontaneous brainstorms over fabulous food—it reignited my creativity and drive in a way that a thousand webinars just can’t.
If you ever get the chance to attend a local parenting event, blogger meet-up, tech show, SEO festival (or even a casual coffee morning at the community centre) grab it! It might feel intimidating at first and you might overthink your outfit. But trust me. One real-world chat can lead to a hundred new opportunities—and a few lifelong friends.
Create your own tribe
Can’t find a group that feels like “your people”? Then start your own!
All it takes is one group chat—on WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, wherever you fancy—and a few parents who are craving connection just like you. (There are always parents craving connection.)
When I created the Built for Blogging Community, it wasn’t polished or perfect—it was real. And that’s what made it powerful. Trust yourself. You’ll be surprised who turns up when you open the door.
Explore local interest groups
And for those days when even WhatsApp can’t quite scratch the human connection itch, look local.
Libraries, children’s centres, and local “What’s On” guides often list meet-ups like baby sensory classes, dads’ pram walks, toddler forest schools—you name it. These real-world spaces offer connection and an excuse to get out of the house without needing to put on full makeup. (Win-win.)
FAQs about parent communities
What is a parent community?
A parent community is a support network where parents share experiences, advice, and emotional support through online platforms or local groups.
Why is community involvement important for parent mental health?
Community involvement significantly reduces feelings of isolation and anxiety, providing emotional support and practical advice crucial for mental wellbeing.
How can parents get involved in a community?
Parents can join existing online groups, attend local or virtual events, start their own community networks, or engage with charity support groups like PANDAS Foundation.
What are some recommended parent support resources?
Key resources include Built for Blogging, PANDAS Foundation, local council family groups, NHS Start4Life, The Graco Village, and Graco’s Instagram (@graco_uk).
Where can parents find immediate support in crisis situations?
For urgent support, parents can contact the Parent Stress Line, PANDAS Foundation helpline, or their local health services.
Final thoughts
Parenting, freelancing, entrepreneurship and blogging are undeniably challenging—but when you have a community behind you, you’re never truly walking the tightrope alone.
It really does take a village to raise a parent. Whether that’s through WhatsApp chats with fellow bloggers at 3a.m., a supportive postnatal helpline like PANDAS Foundation, or tuning in to real talk from brands like Graco who genuinely champion parental wellbeing—community isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline. It’s essential.
This May, during Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (5–11 May) and Mental Health Awareness Week (12–18 May), Graco is shining a spotlight on how vital community is to our wellbeing as parents. They’re partnering with brilliant organisations like PANDAS to open up honest conversations about mental health, connection, and support—and you’re invited to join.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Follow @graco_uk on Instagram for expert-led discussions, inspiring parent stories, and practical tips throughout the month.
- Please share your own story using #maternalmentalhealthmatters and show others they’re never alone.
- Check out The Graco Village, Graco’s blog all about helping parents feel seen and understood
- Explore charities like PANDAS Foundation for mental health support, whether you need it today or simply want to know help is there if you ever do.
- Join communities like Built for Blogging or create your own tribe—because sometimes the first step to feeling better is finding your people.
You can be smashing deadlines, managing tantrums, dreaming up blog posts, making orders and still need someone to remind you—you’ve got this.
And you really do.
Sponsored by Graco
