When Kids Can’t Be Kids
Most kids of parents with a mental illness experience childhood differently and less innocently than other children as they deal with their often chaotic home lives and navigate their worlds. If you are the son or daughter of a parent with a mental illness, and you...
Children Who Get Hugs Tend to Become Happier Adults
I missed out on hugs and cuddles. My mother, who was mentally ill, did not display affection. In second grade, I walked home from school with a friend. I remember watching as she ran up her front steps. Her mother would be waiting for her at the door with a smile....
Kids Need Hugs
(The article below is based on an excerpt from my book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) My mother, who was mentally ill, never hugged me, never caressed me,...
When Developmental Trauma Pulls You In.
Sometimes raising a child with developmental trauma feels like drowning. During the pandemic, the usual lifelines of educational and community support are decreased or absent, and many parents are left feeling suffocated and alone. Our son spent two years languishing...