DepressedParenting1

RunningHead:HOWDEPRESSEDPARENTSAFFECTSTHEIRCHILD'SLEARNING

DepressedParenting
KelleyCharles
MattawanHighSchool

DepressedParenting2
DepressedParenting

AccordingtotheMayoClinic,depressionisdefinedasamooddisorderthatcausesa
persistentfeelingofsadnessandlossofinterest.Thisdisorderissomethingthatmultiple
parentsfaceintheirlifetime.Whetheritsbecauseofajob,therelationshipwiththeotherparent,
orjustthattheyareunhappywiththemselvespersonally.Asaresult,theirchildrenarestartingto
misbehave,gainingaphobiaofgoingtoschool,andoverallnotgettingthenutrientstheyneedto
grow.
Mostofthetimewhenastudentisintrouble,parentsbelievethatitsthechild's
faultanditisjusttheirpersonality.Alotoftimeswhenastudentcantsitdownorpayattention,
aperson'smindgoesstraighttothinkingthattheyhaveanattentiondisorderhowever,
Richard
O'Connor
statesthatGoodchildtherapistsknowthatoftenwhenachildisintrouble,parents
aredepressed.Thoughtheparentsoftenfeelthatthechildsbehavioristhesourceoftheir
distress,infactoftenthechildisreactingtotheparentsdepression.(OConnor,2006).In
extremecases,parentsresultinsendingtheirchildtoaprivateschool,orevenaboardingschool,
almostasiftheyareexpellingthemfromtheirhouse.RichardOconnorstatesthat
Weoften
explaintoparentsthatthechildisreallytryingtogetariseoutofthem,togetthemtobe
parents,toputtheirfootdown,enforcerules,andpayattention.Theparentmayneverhave
realizedthat,inreality,heorsheisquitedepressed.Whenwecantreatthedepression
successfully,theparenthastheenergytopayattention,tosetlimits,tobefirmandconsistent
andthechildsbehaviorimproves.(OConnor,2006).Itsveryimportantthatparentsareaware
ofthisbecauseitisblindtothem.Depressionisntalwaysadisorderthatpeoplewanttoadmit
theyhaveandtheyliketoblameitonothers.Therearesomeparentsthoughthatwanttohave

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thebestlifefortheirchildrensowouldbewillingtoseewheretheyarecomingfrom.Itis
importantthatifaparenthasdepressionthattheygetittreatedbecause,ifnot,itcanresultin
theirchildalsohavingdepression.Manystudieshavefoundthatdepressedmothershave
difficultybondingwiththeirinfantstheyarelesssensitivetothebabysneedsandless
consistentintheirresponsestothebabysbehavior.Thebabiesappearmoreunhappyand
isolatedthanotherchildren.Theymaybedifficulttocomfort,appearlistless,andbedifficultto
feedandputtosleep.(OConnor,2006).OconnorsaysthisandIbelievethatisoneofthe
mostimportantthingsamotherneedstoknowwhileraisingherchild.Infantsneedtoknowthat
theyareloved.Atasmallage,childrenrelyheavilyonthewaythatparentstreatthemandif
theyreneglected,theycangrowupwithdevelopmentalissues.
AccordingtotheNationalAcademyofSciences,atleast15millionchildren(aboutone
infive)intheU.S.liveinhouseholdswithparentswhohavemajororseveredepression
(ParentalDepression,2014).Thisisahugeproblemaffectingchildparentrelationships
becauseparentswhoaredepressedaremostlikelytoneglecttheirchild.Familytypesarealsoa
hugefactorwiththisproblem.Singleparentsaretwiceaslikelytogetdiagnosedwith
depression,resultinginthemtonotforfullasmucheducationaswanted,whichmeansthatthey
cantsupporttheirchildasmuch.Itisalsofoundthatmotherswhoareasingleparentaremore
likelytobedepressedratherthanasingleparentfather.Nomatterthegenderorthefamilytype
itisstillahugedealbecauseofthefactthatsomanychildrenarentmeetingtheirpotential.
Mostchildrenlearnfromnurtureratherthannature.AccordingtoChildTrendsDatabank,

Longterm,severematernaldepressionhasbeenfoundtohaveespeciallyadverseconsequences
forchilddevelopmentandbehavior.Fiveyearoldchildrenwhosemothersexperiencedfrequent

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and/orseveredepressionweremorelikelytohavebehavioralproblemsandlowervocabulary
scoresthanthosewhosemothershadlesschronicand/orseveredepression(Parental
Depression,2014).Childrenneedextrahelpoutsideofschooltolearnthebasicsoflifeandto
getextrahelpwiththecurriculuminformationatschool.Withouthavingparentalguidance,it
canresultinstudentsgettingbehindinschool,whichcanresultinthemnotevenwanttoattend
school,astheygetolder.
Ifyouaskagraduatingclassofhighschoolersiftheyveeverstayedhomejustbecause
theydidntwanttoattendschoolthatday,mostlikelyagoodamountofthemwilltellyouthat
theyhave.Whatmostwon'ttellyouisthattheyactuallyhaveaphobiaofgoingtoschool.Missy
NicholsonlivesinMassachusettsandhasstruggledwithdepressionsinceageten.Whenshe
becameamother,sherealizedthatherdepressionwasntjustaffectingher,italsoaffectedher
children.Herdepressiongotsobadthatmostdaysshewouldjustsleepinbed.Shesaid,
Ididn't
evengetuptomakemydaughterbreakfastorseeherofftoschool,"(MillerKase,2003).This
resultedinherdaughter,Katherinewhowasattheageofeightatthetimetodevelopaphobiaof
goingtoschool.Katherineexplainedthatsheneverwantedtoleavehermomalonebecauseshe
wasworriedwhatwouldhappen.Luckily,hermommadeanefforttogetbetterandgotherself
backontrack,soherdaughtersphobiawentaway.Asmanyasoneinfourwomenwillsuffer
fromthisbiologicalillnessatsomepointinherlifetime,includingabouttenpercentofnew
motherswhodevelop

postpartumdepression
(PPD)(MillerKase,2003).Thisaffectsthe
childrenbecauseitincreasestheirchanceofhavingthisdisorderabouttwoorfourtimesmore.It
canbeextremelyhardformomstosupporttheirchildwithaffection,patience,andplayfulness.

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Nomatterthelevelofdepressionthemomfaces,itishardforthechildtodeveloptotheaverage
standardsresultinginthemnotenjoyingschoolortonotevenattendschool.
Depressionisaveryserioustopic,peopleshouldnttakeitassomeonebeingsadallthe
time.Ithasagreataffectontheindividualthatissufferingfromitandthepeoplearoundthem.It
isimportanttobeawarewithwhatparentshavedepressionsoyoucanrealizethatmaybethe
studentisntmisbehavingbecauseoftheirpersonality,itcouldactuallybethewaytheyreactto
theirparentbeingdepressed.Depressionalsoaffectsachildsdevelopmentprocessandits
importantthateducatorsrealizeanindividualmayneedmorehelpthananotherstudent.Lastly,
nomatterwhatyouneverwanttohaveachildgainaphobiaofgoingtoschool.Ifeelthat
educatorsneedtobemoreawareofwhatkindofparentsareoutthere.

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References
MillerKase,L.(2003).Howdepressionaffectsyourfamily.Retrieved
October25,2015,from
http://www.parents.com/baby/health/postpartumdepression/howdepressionaffectsyour
family/

O'Connor,R.(2006).Depressedparentsandtheeffectsontheir
children.RetrievedOctober25,2015,from
http://psychcentral.com/lib/depressedparentsandtheeffectsontheirchildren/
(2014).ParentalDepression.RetrievedOctober25,2015,
fromhttp://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=parentaldepression