What’s Up With Our Parents? A Handbook For Older Children and Adolescents Whose Mother or Father has Mental Health Problems

This booklet was written in Finland and translated into English for older children and teenagers who have a parent with a mental illness. It attempts to explain what mental illness is and to answer common questions young people often have in an age-appropriate way. 'If one or both parents are having issues with their mental health, a lot of things may change at home. Maybe the parents can’t cope with everyday things like they used to. They may be uptight or irritable, so they get angry easily and say hurtful things. Or maybe they’re really tired and quiet. They might behave strangely and say weird things. Maybe they argue a lot. It’s no wonder that children sometimes get puzzled and don’t really know what’s going on or what to do. This handbook explains what mental health problems are and tries to answer some of the questions children might have.'