Something to Think About: Parenting Children with Mental Illness

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a government agency dedicated to medical research, at least half of all cases of lifetime mental illness appear before age fourteen. The National Alliance on Mental Illness says 1 in 5 children between the ages of 13 and 18 live with a severe mental illness. Parents who are raising children with mental illness must contend with social stigma, lack of psychiatric support, and a dearth of appropriate interventions. Yet we hear very little from those parents and kids who are struggling except when the cases are outrageous and tragic. I brought together two moms who are parenting children who are mentally ill and who are out-spoken advocates for greater support and information.