How to Protect My Child From My BPD Behavior

Children need stable, consistent environments to come back to give them the courage to go out into the world and take risks. Children of a parent with bipolar disorder (BPD), however, do not always have that kind of security and emotional stability at home. They have a parent who swings from one emotional extreme to another on a varying basis. Parenting and discipline have a tendency to be inconsistent for someone with BPD, leaving a child without a firm set of guidelines and routine in their life. As a parent with bipolar disorder, you can protect your child from the behavior caused by your bipolar disorder with planning and routines.

Instructions

• 1

  Get medical help, if you are not already being treated. Your mental health specialist will prescribe medication for you. For your sake and for your child's, take your meds! The medication will help to balance the mood swings caused by the chemical imbalance behind bipolar disorder.

• 2

  Learn to recognize your episode triggers and avoid them when possible. Common triggers include stressful work situations, social isolation, relationship problems, travel, medication side effects, alcohol and drug abuse and exposure to people who are negative or aggressive.

• 3

  Minimize household stress and promote harmony by drawing up a schedule of household activities and duties, then stick to them. Set meal and bed times. A routine for how things are done and decided and accountability for everyone bring organization and focus into daily life. This creates the stability your child needs while promoting a trigger-free environment for you.

• 4

  Develop and maintain an open line of communication with your child about their feelings and fears and about your disorder. Help your child to understand that your episodes are not his or her fault and are not intentional; they are part of your disease. Give your child the information he or she needs to understand what is happening.

• 5

  Do not overburden your child or make him or her into a sort of "parent." Your child is not here to take care of you; you are here to take care of your child.

• 6

  Create a support network of trusted and reliable adults to be there for your child when you can't be. This can be a spouse, relative or friend, but it needs to be someone your child knows and trusts. He or she needs to be and feel safe when he or she is with this person.

• 7

  Love your child and be sure to let them know how you feel. Your child needs to know that you love him or her, whether you are up or down. That kind of love is the source of a child's emotional security.