Do you think schizophrenics are capable of being good parents?

Question

Are they under supervision from social services?

Answer 1

It depends on the person. A diagnosis of a mental illness does not automatically make someone a bad parent.

Whether the person is a fit parent or not has to be determined in court with evidence of neglect or abuse.

Some so-called mentally healthy people are terrible parents.

Answer 2

Any kind of mental illness can be hard on a parent .... however, it is possible for them to manage their illness and be a good parent.
With the help and support of friends and family they will be better at coping with the demands of themselves and children. It is not necessarily mean that they are not capable.
The parent needs to be addressing the illness and be on medication. One fear is that there will be a relapse and the parent has to be admitted to a hospital.
But, family can step in and assist until the parent is stable again.
I have BPD, and severe depression.. I am a single parent. I have relapsed this year, and been hospitalized 5-6 times. Without the help of family i would not have been capable of keeping my son.
It is possible, depending on the situation and the amount of support the parent has.

Answer 3

The birth child of a schizophrenic has a 1 in 5 chance of inheriting it. It is not something a schizophrenic is wise to seek, but once it is done, it all depends on the effectiveness of their meds.

The good or interesting news is that the children of depressives fare worse than those of schizophrenics. Children interpret the depressive withdrawal as being about them and feel unloved, unloveable.

Answer 4

I think that being schizophrenic should never automatically stop one from being a good parent. I know many people who should never have had children and are bad parents and AREN'T schizophrenic.

It's all a case of individual circumstances. I have BPD and severe depression, I don't think I could be a good parent because I couldn't mentally cope with children, therefore I do not want to get pregnant.

Answer 5

I think it depends on the degree that they suffer from it. Someone who is schizophrenic and in a situation where it isn't controlled and they aren't safe to even themselves, i wud say wouldn't be a good parent. But on the whole i would say yes, they are definately capable. However in saying that there would need to be certain plans etc in place to secure the safety of the children in case something happened. And they would need to be on medication which has proven long term to control it so that they arent a danger to themselves or anyone else. But overall i think with planning etc its definately possible.

Answer 6

What is the world coming to? To the bigot aynav, fine point you made there! Your blinkered view of things is stunning. If only we all a had choice of nice 'respectable', reliable not mentally ill people to be our parents, we'd all be safe. It must be true your rant says it. I'm sure that little Madeline McCann was jumping for joy when she was abducted by god knows who to have god knows what done to her after her professional educated,reliable, safe, none mentally ill mother left her on her own to go out on the p***. You just bet the poor like thing was chanting,My mammy's a doctor and not a schizophrenic so she the better parent and I'm much safer! Grow up and instead of spouting bigoted Dickensian logic spend your time getting the facts about mental illnesses. People like you, with your, I'm so perfect, judgement arrogance sickens me to the pit of my stomach. Crawl back under the troll bridge you crawled out of. As others have rightly said, as with any illnesses, physical or mental, it depends on lots of things not just a label.

Answer 7

I think some people with mental disorders are perfectly capable of being good parents as long as they are compliant and stabilized with their medications. But some people become a problem when the medication makes them feel better so they quit taking it.

to aynav--do your research before you talk about people...the person that drowned her babies was not schizophrenic!

Answer 8

it depends on the person..and not all of them are under supervision..but remember, schizophrenia is genetic..so thier children and grandchildren are at a much higher risk of suffering with schizophrenia than the general public, almost 6 times greater chance..check out schizophrenia.com

Answer 9

It really depends on the case. But if a person is aware of their condition, goes to therapy for it, and takes the necessary meds (assuming they're needed), then yes. I think they're capable.

Answer 10

Have they developed an implant treatment for schizophrenia? That, I think, would make parenting much safer. Life becomes so chaotic when kids arrive that forgetting medication becomes much more likely. I've only knowingly known one schizophrenia sufferer; and he decided he didn't need his medication - it was his wife who suffered.