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Building your child’s support networks when you experience mental illness

Emerging Minds, Australia, October, 2022

Related to Parental mental illness, Parenting with mental health difficulties

Resource Summary

This resource introduces parents living with mental illness to the importance of having support networks for their children and how to use My child’s support network guide. The guide, which was developed in partnership with parents who live with a mental illness, their children and supporters, is designed to help parents think about the relationships in their child’s life and ways to strengthen these to support their child and the family too.


Definition
Emerging Minds acknowledges that families come in many forms. For the purposes of easy reading, the term ‘parent’ encompasses the biological, adoptive, foster and kinship carers of a child, as well as individuals who have chosen to take up primary or shared responsibility in raising that child.

The importance of support networks for your child

Supportive relationships help children to thrive, and having family and trusted friends who they can rely on when needed can help children feel more secure and resilient. As a parent living with mental illness there may be times when you are unwell and need help to support your children. This resource provides guidance on how to ensure that you have the support of the people around you and your children, so that your children can turn to them for help during difficult times.   

Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles might be able to step in for you when needed to support your children and help maintain their routines. In other situations, friends may be better able to provide support and nurturing for your children when you are focused on recovery or managing your own needs. Whatever your situation it’s a good idea to talk to your children about who the trusted adults are that can support them if they need to speak to someone other than you. It’s also important that your children know you are supportive of them having others to turn to if you are unavailable for any reason.  

The My child’s support network guide has been developed in partnership with parents who live with a mental illness, their children and supporters. It is designed to help you think about the relationships in your child’s life and ways to strengthen these to support your child and the family too.  

Using the guide

Use one My child’s support network guide for each child in the family. There are three steps required to complete it:  

Step 1  

Identify the closest relationships in your child’s life.  

Step 2  

Consider the role of each of these relationships in your child’s life and how their connections with these people could be strengthened, so that this part of your family’s network is available to call on during tough times or times of major change.  

Step 3  

Offer your child the ‘My connections‘ part of the worksheet to help them identify the people in their life that they feel comfortable contacting if they need or want to. Suggest they keep the completed worksheet in a safe place.  

Building your child’s support networks will not only help provide them with nurturing and stability, but can also help to ease the pressure on all family members during challenging times. 

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