The UAE’s decision to designate next year as the Year of the Family carries a powerful message: that the strength of society begins at home. For me, as a mother of three young children, it was an invitation to pause and reflect on what family life really looks like today and how different it is from the experience of our parents.
My own mother raised five children while working long evening hours teaching adult learners. She would return home late at night, rest briefly, and still be fully present with my siblings and I the next morning before school. Her generation carried a remarkable resilience, one that often came without the support systems we take for granted today. But their challenges were different too. Life was simpler, expectations were fewer and communities were more intertwined. Parenting was more communal, and no one expected a mother – or father – to be everything at once.
Today, mothers face pressure that is not always visible. Our responsibilities have multiplied: careers, school follow-ups, extracurriculars, emotional and mental health, digital supervision, nutrition and the constant sense of needing to do everything perfectly. The opportunities for women are greater – and we’re proud of that – but those come with a heavier emotional load that previous generations simply did not have to navigate in the same way.
Before writing this article, I asked my siblings and several colleagues who are working mothers what they find to be the hardest part about working and raising children. Their answers were strikingly similar: finding real balance. Not the theoretical balance we hear about in speeches or read about in advice columns, but the daily, exhausting attempt to be fully present at work while also being emotionally available at home. The honesty in their answers made me realise that many families across the country are quietly carrying the same struggle.
This tension doesn’t only affect parents, it affects children too. The challenge is not a lack of love or commitment, but the growing weight of expectations surrounding modern parenting. Parenting today is different from what it used to be even when my generation was little, and it hasn’t grown lighter.
According to an OECD-based analysis published by the World Economic Forum that compared parental time over five decades, parents today spend significantly more time with their children than parents did in the 1960s. Mothers now spend almost twice as much time with their children as their own mothers did, and fathers spend nearly four times more. This shift reflects a profound change in family life: modern parents are expected to be more present, more engaged, and more hands-on than ever before even as they juggle careers, digital pressures and rising emotional expectations at home.
One encouraging change I have seen, within my own family and others around me, is the evolving role of fathers. While mothers still carry the heavier share of emotional and organisational responsibilities at home, fathers today generally tend to be far more involved than past generations, as financial providers and active partners in parenting. This shift, though gradual, has helped ease some of the pressure on mothers and has contributed to a healthier, more balanced family dynamic. It is a positive development that deserves recognition as we reflect on what strong families look like today.
The UAE has made remarkable progress in supporting families, from maternity and paternity leave to flexible work models, to childcare facilities and educational support. These advancements matter a great deal, and have improved the lives of countless families. But policy alone cannot shape a thriving family environment. We also need awareness, community support and realistic expectations.
Realistic expectations mean acknowledging that parent, especially mothers, cannot be perfect in all roles, all the time. That a working mother who leaves the office at 5pm to make it to her child’s school performance is not less committed. That a father who asks for flexible hours is not avoiding work. And that a household where both parents contribute emotionally, mentally and practically is not an exception but a modern necessity.
Realistic expectations also mean recognising that the “ideal” family model of previous generations no longer exists in the same way. Many couples now make up dual-income households, in fast-paced cities and in increasingly digital environments.
The challenges are more complex: children are online earlier, exposed to more, pressured socially and academically, and parents must constantly adapt. Families need guidance in navigating these changes not because they are failing, but because the world has shifted around them.
This is why there is a growing need for comprehensive awareness programmes that help families navigate today’s challenges, including healthy parent–child communication, emotional resilience for both parents and children, digital safety and modern parenting skills, managing the mental load within the household, realistic expectations of working mothers, and the importance of shared responsibilities at home.
Such programmes would not replace parental instinct as much as strengthen it. They would help parents support their children with confidence, reduce stress within households and create healthier family environments.
If the families of my mother’s generation built homes through sacrifice and endurance, ours can build them through knowledge, support and flexibility. And one of the most meaningful steps we can take is to expand flexible work options, especially for parents of young children.
Families thrive when parents are not stretched beyond their limits. This is an economic issue as much as it is a social one. Research consistently shows that companies with family-friendly policies experience higher retention, better productivity and stronger employee loyalty.
As we enter the Year of the Family, we have an opportunity not only to celebrate families, but to rethink how we support them. To move beyond surface narratives and truly ask: are parents thriving, or merely coping? Are we encouraging mothers to succeed, or exhausting them? Are we supporting fathers as caregivers, or reinforcing outdated expectations?
The UAE has always been forward-thinking in its commitment to the well-being of families. The next step lies in ensuring that every parent feels seen, supported and understood, not only by policy, but by society.
The challenges of modern parenting are real but so are the opportunities. With awareness, community involvement and continued policy innovation, we can create a future where families no longer struggle quietly, but flourish with confidence.
