Customer Reviews

If Your Child Is Bipolar: The Parent-to-Parent Guide to Living with and Loving a Bipolar Child

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Child and adoelscent psychiatrists are still debating clearer definitions of pediatric bipolar disorder. While we are working this out, we are still faced, here and now, with very complicated, difficult children; Children who tax the energy and resources of schools and families. Faced with diagnostic ambiguity, you can end up with "true believers" on either end of the spectrum: Those who have a very broad definition of bipolar disorder, and those who feel that these difficult, emotionally labile children have other diagnoses.

I liked this book because it is not political either way. The book is by a parent. She is more focused on dealing with the realities of these difficult children. This said, she also believes in being a strong advocate for the child when the parent feels that professionals are missing the child's symptoms and special needs.

Each section includes informational material interspersed with personal vignettes from the author and many other parents. I liked that she included stories from so many families, because each family encounters different professionals, schools and social situations. With so many voices, parents will find some that reflect their own experiences.

Figuring out what you are dealing with: Children with bipolar disorder and other related conditions often go through many different diagnoses, therapies and school settings. Diagnosis and treatment are often an ongoing journey, even if you have excellent clinicians and a good school. She provides solid information to help parents ask intelligent questions and challenge opinions that do not seem to fit.

Adjusting to the diagnosis: She talks about the emotional rollercoaster that most parents experience when they are trying to come to grips with the fact that their child has a severe, probably chronic disorder. How do you love this child? How do you deal with your own anger and grief? Sometimes stressed, grieving parents do make mistakes.

Helping your child get treatment: She talks about interactions with therapists and school systems. this section is useful for parents who need suport in feeling empowered to speak up.

The sections on taking care of yourself and on having a bipolar child in the family are my favorites. I hope that clinicians read these sections. Ideally, children with bipolar disorder should have two parents in the house and a supportive extended family. Too often though, marriages fall apart under the strain. When confronted with a difficult child, clinicians should immedately do whatever they can to support the family structure and build in comunity support. The author talks about how she and other families found outside support, even when marriages were failing and extended families did not understand.

Helping your child like with bipolar disorder: Finally she discusses how you talk to your child and help him or her develop a positive self esteem. It is difficult to determine how you teach the child responsibility for his or her actions.

I purchased this book on January 1, 2004, when I accidentally stumbled upon it at The Tattered Cover Bookstore when I was searching for additional books to add to my own library on the topic of early onset bipolar disorder. This book, is by far, the easiest to understand, makes the most sense, especially to the lay person who may not be a Psychiatrist or Psychologist, and as a parent and a health provider ( a retired Registered Nurse) I found the language appropriate for anyone who lives with and loves a bipolar child. I honestly feel that this book saved my sanity regarding my experience with my bipolar child. I have read and reread this book many times, highlighting in green, yellow, pink and orange with each new read. I have suggested to everyone that I know, personally involved with a bipolar child, to buy and read this book. It makes sense to own it for me as I am constantly looking for pieces of the puzzle or reminders that I may have forgotten since I last read it. This truly is a MUST read for all families with a child that they love who happens to be bipolar. I cannot thank Cindy Singer and Sheryl Gurrentz enough for putting their hearts into this book.

"According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 3.4 million children and adolescents suffer from depression in the United States, and up to one third of those may actually be experiencing the early onset of Bipolar Disorder...Left untreated, Bipolar Disorder can lead to suicide, and the suicide rate for children age 10-14 has more than doubled over the last 15 years."

"If Your Child Is Bipolar" is a results of the author's own family experiences and the result of hundreds of stories from parents sharing the frustration of raising a child who is Bipolar. There is also information from mental health professionals and empowering information to allow parents to understand a diagnosis.
I have personally come to believe that many people feel suicidal because they do not feel loved or they feel lost in a complex world that does not recognize their many unique gifts. There are also mental disorders which a person can't control and a child who has violent tantrums or severe mood swings can make life rather difficult for any parent. When a child starts to talk about killing themselves at the age of six, there is definitely a problem.

Through this wonderful book, you can learn about the causes of this disorder and get the support and information you need to make your child's life a more pleasant experience. Not to mention give you some needed peace of mind.

There are six main sections:

Figuring Out What You're Dealing With
Adjusting to the Bipolar Diagnosis
Helping Your Child Get Treatment
Having a Bipolar Child in the Family
Taking Care of Yourself
Helping our Child Live with Bipolar Disorder

This book will be especially helpful for parents who are trying to figure out why their child reacts very negatively to even the best parenting skills. Bipolar children have problems with extreme anger, frustration and seem to be highly intelligent. There are stories of children who cry all day or show extremely inappropriate and sometimes harmful behavior. There are quotes from parents throughout the book to give an idea of the wide variety of symptoms. I had no idea children were going through some of these extreme symptoms and this was highly enlightening.

I was especially interested in the ODD symptoms because I've personally been around a child with ODD and the "actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests" is so true. The authors also discuss Conduct Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and ADHD. Often a child is misdiagnosed or a child is given the wrong medication because a professional does not realize there are other symptoms involved.

I'm not overly enthusiastic about medicating children, but after you read some of the more extreme symptoms, something has to be done to give these children a chance to attend school. I've seen medications calm a child and I've also seen overdosing. If you need to get more than one doctor's opinion, do it. Schools also play a role in medicating children (in the nurses office), so it is important to stay involved and find out what is going on at school.

A glossary at the end of this book provides terms and definitions to terms used in this book. I found this book to be extremely informative, helpful and written in a down-to-earth manner.

Highly recommended for parents with difficult children, psychologists, counselors and anyone dealing with family psychology. This would make an excellent textbook for psychology classes because it presents so many real-life examples.

Also look for:

The Guilt-free Guide to Your New Life as a Mom
Win the Whining War & Other Skirmishes
Survival Tips for Working Moms

~The Rebecca Review

This book is so helpful in reminding me that I am NOT alone in this !! It is not written from a medical standpoint such as Papols' work, but is written by a PARENT for other PARENTS. Includes examples of behavior that you find with bipolar kids and some of the examples are from the kid's viewpoint. Fascinating ! One of the most important things I gained from a practical standpoint is that out insurance company should be viewing my son's bipolar diagnosis as a MEDICAL condition not a MENTAL HEALTH condition. This would increase our benefits about 10-fold. Highly recommend this book !!

Finally! A book that makes sense to me. Reading it gave me peace, hope, and understanding when nothing else did. It's extremely informative. I loved it because I learned exactly where to start in order to make things better, and what to do next. It's easy to read, and the examples and testimonials gave me so much support and guidance. Finally I felt like somebody knew what I was going through and could give me useful advice. Not only is the information helpful for parenting a bipolar child, but I think it's also a "must have" for parents who have children with any kind of personality problem or mental illness. Thank you for writing this book.

This is an excellent resource for understanding a bi-polar child. The book does an wonderful job in describing the experience of being a bi-polar child. As a bi-polar adult, it described in detail what my experience was growing up. The book gives parents an insight as to what to expect and how to deal with bi-polar children. Since the authors have bi-polar children, there is lots of advise on therapy and medication. It also gives the reader hope for their child.

Collaboratively written by Cindy Singer (Founder of Mothers of Asperger's Syndrome Kids - MASK) and Sheryl Gurrentz (whose brother has a Bipolar Disorder), If Your Child Is Bipolar: The Parent-To-Parent Guide To Living With And Loving A Bipolar Child is an impressive self-help guide for parents struggling to cope with children who have a behavioral or mood disorder. From recognizing behaviors that can be a sign of mental illness; to finding mental healthcare professions who can properly diagnose and treat a child; to learning parenting skills to help control a child's behavior at home; to wrestling with recalcitrant insurance companies, and a great deal more, If Your Child Is Bipolar is a comprehensive resource and a very strongly recommended source of tested advice for parents, grandparents, and other care givers.

It is wonderful to read a book for parents that is written by a parent. This is someone who understands my daily life. This is a practical guide. I wish I had this book when my son was diagnoised 2 1/2 years ago! I would suggest this book and "The Bipolar Child" as manditory reading for a parent (or family member) whose child has been diagnoised with bipolar.

Thank you so much for such an interesting book. I was watching late night television and came upon the women who wrote the book IF YOUR CHILD IS BIPOLAR and was fasinated because my daughters best friend had been diagnosed as Bipolar. As someone looking in from the outside, I didn't understand the disorder nor could I ever have imagined what the parents go through everyday.

It was a very honest, personal book with a vast amount of information for not only families of someone with Bipolar disorder but also for the friends of the families, as it allows us to understand and give the support and understanding that the parents and child so deserve.

This book made me feel so much more in control. It made me feel better emotionally and gave me suggestions on things to try that really worked. I have lots of books that give technical details about the disorder and the medications that are used to treat it, but this book helped me deal with the everyday types of situations I face as the parent of a Bipolar child. I think every parent with a child who is or might be Bipolar should get this book!