The parenting journey is touted as a conglomeration of positive and negative emotions,
especially in the early years, when both parents are transitioning into these new roles. One such
challenging emotion is Parental Guilt which occurs in response to the perceived violation of
ideal standards of parenthood, resulting in negative mental health consequences. The present
research explores the experiences of Parental guilt among eleven participants (six mothers, five
fathers) of healthy children aged between 6 months and 5 years. All the participants were
recruited using snowball sampling and were in a marital relationship with their current spouses
for at least two years. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted, with the questions revolving
around the emotional aspects of parenting, the expectations associated with becoming parents
and specific experiences of guilt in parenting and what it translates into for these parents. The
transcripts were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, creating four themes- "Being a
'good parent'", "Need for constant self-monitoring", "Pressure of comparisons" and
"Balancing the old and the new", each with sub-themes to understand the internal standards
and external social discourses that birth and boost the experience of guilt. The findings highlight the
need to acknowledge these challenging emotions of parenthood, especially in the Indian
scenario where the emphasis is strongly on celebrating it as a divine gift. Further, the study
also adopts a gendered lens to show how cultural expectations shape the experiences of guilt
differently for fathers and mothers. Organizations working with new parents can use these
findings to help them identify the sources of such guilt and protect themselves from it by
devising appropriate strategies.