This report ‘The Health and Wellbeing of Parents’ is the sixteenth report in the Statistical Spotlights series. Spotlight publications focus on a specific topics and gather available statistical data to highlight trends or patterns. Spotlight #16 draws on data from Healthy Ireland, on the health behaviours and the health and wellbeing of parents and non-parents. Data are presented for parents aged between 31 and 54 years with at least one child under 18 years of age. The analysis compares health and wellbeing behaviours of parents and non-parents. It also looks at data on the behaviours and outcomes of mothers compared with fathers. Key information in the report includes:

• Parents are smoking less year-on-year since 2022 (19.2% in 2022 versus 16.4% in 2024). This was substantially lower than the percentage of non-parents who smoked (24.0%). 
• In both 2021 and 2023, a higher proportion of parents considered their wellbeing good or very good (79.8% and 89.9% for 2021 and 2023, respectively) compared to non-parents (70.6% and 81.4%). 
• Mothers and fathers were as likely as each other to report their health as good or very good, with very little difference between the two (84.8% and 85.3%, respectively, in 2024).

Chapter 2. Health Behaviours p.9
2.1 Overview p.9
2.2 Smoking p.9
2.3 Alcohol Consumption p.10
2.4 Binge Drinking .p.14
2.5 Drug Use p.16

In 2024, just under a fifth of the population aged 31 to 54 smoked tobacco products, and almost 8 out of 10 consumed alcohol in the past year. Just over 1 in 10 of the total population reported taking drugs in the past year. A higher percentage of non-parents than parents smoked, whereas the frequency of alcohol consumption was very similar across parents and non-parents. In terms of drug use, a higher proportion of non parents used drugs in the past year compared to parents. See Table 2. More detail on these trends and information on previous years is provided throughout this section....

[See also, datasheet]