Children With Depressed Parents
Often times, when we think about the implications of depression in the classroom we focus on the child who has depression. But it is also a serious concern when children's parents are suffering from depression, and can similarly disrupt academic performance and hinder a child's ability to prosper socially etc.
"How to Help Children of Depressed Parents Cope," Health
"Children of depressed parents are at greater risk than others for academic and behavioral problems and for developing depression themselves."
- Health.ca
"Parents’ Depression Linked to Problems in Children," The New York Times
"One in five Americans will suffer from depression at some point, noted Dr. Beardslee, who was on the committee that issued the report. “Untreated, unrecognized parental depression can lead to negative consequences for kids,” he said, ranging from poor school performance to increased visits to the emergency room to poorer peer relationships and adolescent depression.
Moreover, there is plenty of evidence that when depressed parents get treatment and help with their parenting, families are much better off."
"Depression damages the interactions between parents and children, and disrupts family routines and rituals. Children with a depressed parent are themselves more likely to manifest symptoms of depression, research shows, along with other psychiatric problems and behavior issues. They are more likely to make visits to the emergency room and more likely to be injured.
A depressed parent may have trouble following a plan of preventive care if a child has a medical problem like asthma. But higher rates of depression in parents whose children have chronic medical problems may also reflect the stress of dealing with those problems, especially for psychologically vulnerable parents."
- Perry Class, MD
"Children Seriously Affected When Parents Suffer From Depression," ScienceDaily
"The results show how the family’s daily life changes and becomes more complicated when a parent is suffering from depression. Uncertainty about what is happening has an effect on the daily life of the entire family. Depression also means that the parent becomes tired and exhausted, which then affects and weighs heavily on the children’s daily life. Depression changes the relationship between a parent and his/her children, since they no longer communicate with each other as they used to. Family interplay and reciprocity decrease. The depressed parent withdraws from the family, and the children feel that they have been left to themselves.
Daily family life becomes unfamiliar to the children
The family members try their utmost, both as individuals and together, to cope with the situation, so that daily life can be restored to a more manageable level. The children take responsibility for both the depressed parent, siblings and themselves, when they notice that the parent cannot cope.
“The toughest burden of responsibility that children take on is ensuring that the depressed parent doesn’t commit suicide. So children take on an extremely heavy responsibility by monitoring and keeping an eye on the depressed parent,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.
For children, the parent’s depression means both a sense of responsibility and a feeling of loneliness The feelings of responsibility and loneliness include a striving and yearning for reciprocity with the parent, and for things to return to a state of normality.
“Even if the depression goes away for a time, the family is never entirely free from anxiety over it coming back. This means that there is a prolonged period of suffering associated with depression,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström."
- ScienceDaily
"Children of depressed parents are at greater risk than others for academic and behavioral problems and for developing depression themselves."
- Health.ca
"Parents’ Depression Linked to Problems in Children," The New York Times
"One in five Americans will suffer from depression at some point, noted Dr. Beardslee, who was on the committee that issued the report. “Untreated, unrecognized parental depression can lead to negative consequences for kids,” he said, ranging from poor school performance to increased visits to the emergency room to poorer peer relationships and adolescent depression.
Moreover, there is plenty of evidence that when depressed parents get treatment and help with their parenting, families are much better off."
"Depression damages the interactions between parents and children, and disrupts family routines and rituals. Children with a depressed parent are themselves more likely to manifest symptoms of depression, research shows, along with other psychiatric problems and behavior issues. They are more likely to make visits to the emergency room and more likely to be injured.
A depressed parent may have trouble following a plan of preventive care if a child has a medical problem like asthma. But higher rates of depression in parents whose children have chronic medical problems may also reflect the stress of dealing with those problems, especially for psychologically vulnerable parents."
- Perry Class, MD
"Children Seriously Affected When Parents Suffer From Depression," ScienceDaily
"The results show how the family’s daily life changes and becomes more complicated when a parent is suffering from depression. Uncertainty about what is happening has an effect on the daily life of the entire family. Depression also means that the parent becomes tired and exhausted, which then affects and weighs heavily on the children’s daily life. Depression changes the relationship between a parent and his/her children, since they no longer communicate with each other as they used to. Family interplay and reciprocity decrease. The depressed parent withdraws from the family, and the children feel that they have been left to themselves.
Daily family life becomes unfamiliar to the children
The family members try their utmost, both as individuals and together, to cope with the situation, so that daily life can be restored to a more manageable level. The children take responsibility for both the depressed parent, siblings and themselves, when they notice that the parent cannot cope.
“The toughest burden of responsibility that children take on is ensuring that the depressed parent doesn’t commit suicide. So children take on an extremely heavy responsibility by monitoring and keeping an eye on the depressed parent,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström.
For children, the parent’s depression means both a sense of responsibility and a feeling of loneliness The feelings of responsibility and loneliness include a striving and yearning for reciprocity with the parent, and for things to return to a state of normality.
“Even if the depression goes away for a time, the family is never entirely free from anxiety over it coming back. This means that there is a prolonged period of suffering associated with depression,” says Britt Hedman Ahlström."
- ScienceDaily
Helping Children Understand a Parent's Depression
Can I Catch it Like a Cold?: A Story to Help Children Understand a Parents Depression
Story by Gretchen Kelbaugh
Illustrated by Coral Nault
Find this book:
Amazon
Curr Lab
Story by Gretchen Kelbaugh
Illustrated by Coral Nault
Find this book:
Amazon
Curr Lab
"I used to think my dad was lazy. I got really mad at him all the time. But then my mom told me the way he acts is because of depression. Depression is a sickness in your brain. It changes the way your brain works. When people with depression are not well, they think and feel and act different from other times. A lot of people have depression."(Pg.5)
"And the most important thing I learned was that it was not my fault. I didn't make her get depressed. It just happened. It felt so good not to feel guilty about it." (Pg. 14)
Alex's dad suffers from depression and refuses to attend any of his son's soccer games or to contribute to household chores. When Alex, eight, finds a sympathetic ear in 12-year-old Anna, he discovers that her mother, too, gets depressed. Through their candid discussion, Alex learns that he did not cause his dad's depression, that there are people in the community who can help both him and his dad deal with this illness and that depression can be cured. Alex seeks further help from his school counselor and a psychologist. The story has a happy ending: Alex's dad is feeling better and has even come to a couple of Alex's soccer games.
- Summary by Gail Hamilton
- Summary by Gail Hamilton
Can I Catch it Like a Cold?: Coping with a Parent's Depression
Story by Center For Addiction and Mental Health
Illustrated by Joe Weissmann
Find this book:
Good Reads
Story by Center For Addiction and Mental Health
Illustrated by Joe Weissmann
Find this book:
Good Reads
Young Alex’s father had been a policeman until he began to suffer from depression, perhaps the most common mental health issue we face. Alex’s questions are those that are often asked by the children of parents who have depression: is the parent simply lazy? Does he no longer care? And is it something I can catch, like a cold?
In simple, straightforward language, the book explains what depression is and how it is treated. It also prepares a child for working with a helping professional. And perhaps most important, it reassures a child that he or she is not alone.
- Summary by Good Reads
In simple, straightforward language, the book explains what depression is and how it is treated. It also prepares a child for working with a helping professional. And perhaps most important, it reassures a child that he or she is not alone.
- Summary by Good Reads