Hope Through Tales: Through the Eyes of a Child of a Parent With Bipolar Disorder

TL;DR

This paper explores how bipolar disorder affects family life and suggests shared book reading as a way to strengthen parent-child bonds.

Contribution

The paper introduces shared book reading as a potential early intervention to improve parent-child interaction in families affected by bipolar disorder.

Findings

Bipolar disorder significantly impacts family life and parent-child relationships.

Shared book reading may help promote bonding between parents with bipolar disorder and their children.

Low-intensity interventions can be supported by mental health professionals to improve family dynamics.

Abstract

To address the limited understanding of everyday family experiences of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and to explore the effects of parental mood instability on young children and the possibility of early interventions to promote parent–child interaction and bonding.

One of the most challenging mental health disorders is widely acknowledged to be bipolar disorder. The everyday family experiences of individuals with this diagnosis, as well as their personal experiences, are far less well documented than the clinical and medical aspects. The effects of parental mood instability on their young children and the possibility of early interventions to promote parent–child interaction and bonding are poorly studied.

This paper adds to the existing knowledge that a lot of familial instability and parenting issues arise with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which can cause a myriad of issues for the developing child, even at a young age. This paper also describes the use of shared book reading as a medium for a parent with bipolar disorder to spend time and bond with their child, even during their alternating mood states.

Mental health nursing and other rehabilitation professionals could utilise these simple tasks to encourage the use of this method, thereby promoting parent–child bonding and interaction.

Bipolar disorder has a profound impact on everyday family life and parent–child relationships.Children's lived experiences of growing up with a parent with bipolar disorder remain under‐researched.Shared book reading may offer a simple and accessible way to promote parent–child bonding.Mental health nurses can support low‐intensity, relationship‐focused interventions within families affected by bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder has a profound impact on everyday family life and parent–child relationships.

Children's lived experiences of growing up with a parent with bipolar disorder remain under‐researched.

Shared book reading may offer a simple and accessible way to promote parent–child bonding.

Mental health nurses can support low‐intensity, relationship‐focused interventions within families affected by bipolar disorder.