Do Parental Mental Health Issues Affect Children?

Introduction

Parenting a child is one of the most challenging aspects of life. But almost everyone wants to be parents and have a family of their own. Parenting means a lot of additional responsibility and added stress for the individual (couple). Being a parent also requires additional financial resources to be able to spend for the child. Many people agree that watching their kids grow into a responsible individual and see them succeed in life gives then tremendous joy and happiness. It’s one of the most fulfilling feelings a person can get in his or her life. Scientific research has proven the fact that children learn a lot of their behavioral traits from their parents. Hence for proper upbringing of a child parental mental health must be sound. How well do you think an emotionally scarred or mentally ill individual will be able to raise a child?

History

Impact of Parental Mental Illness on Children
Members of child welfare associations and organizations stress that parental mental health issues affect children more deeply than most people think. A child during their early years requires a lot of tender care, love and nurturing. Growing up with a mentally ill parent can easily affect the child’s emotions and give rise to negative regressive feeling. Often such children show aggressive or attention seeking behavior. Those suffering parental mental health issues must consult a psychiatrist to get properly treated. This must be done keeping in mind the welfare of the child. The child must also be given proper counseling to treat any damages already occurred. If the affected parent is very aggressive (like in case of alcoholics) there is chance of them physically assaulting and abusing the child.

Features

Counseling and Care for proper mental health
In all these cases the help of friends and family is highly needed. In most cases the affected individuals are not even aware of their mental health. This is the case faced by many single parents and recently divorced individuals and many others who are going through a very bad patch in their personal life. When it comes to child custody the parental mental health is used to assess who the right person to hold custody of the child is. People in high stress jobs are at more risk of mental instability and must be careful during parenthood. Most couples undergo physical evaluation before planning a child to ensure the proper physical health of their offspring. Experts in pediatrics suggest that couples planning for a baby should also undergo psychiatric counseling before they plan a baby, so as to resolve any issues affecting their mental health. This will ensure that they have a proper parental mental health while raising their children.

Comments

Most Recent Articles