And if you do, did you get Them before or after you went ill?
If you don’t, do you want kids?
And for you Who does, would you have had them if you knew you would develop schizophrenia?
And please notice that This is not a “schizophrenics are not supposed to have kids” thread. I’m just curious why you would or wouldn’t want kids. For my self my postpartum depression developed into psychosis so I became sick after my son was born. To be completely honest if I had known what I do now I wouldn’t have had the courage To become a mom.
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I became pregnant on accident before I was diagnosed. I love my daughter. And now I have two stepdaughters as well. I’m so glad I have them in my life. I would do anything for them.
Being a parent is highly rewarding but not for everyone. You are mostly selfless in the relationship, giving much more than taking. Regardless, for me it’s a huge blessing
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I am currently 5 and a half months pregnant and I know I’m schizophrenic… for the last few years I’ve been terrified of the idea of having kids… one day I just woke up and was like “I want a baby!” And here I am😂 I am married btw
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I had my baby at age 20. I didn’t have my first psychotic episode until I was 23. But, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 33. Knowing what I know now, I might not have gotten pregnant. But I had a VERY strong maternal drive so I don’t know.
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I would like to have a kid, but it would be selfish on my part. I couldn’t afford to give a kid the life I would want to give it. Just loving the kid isn’t enough for me, I would want to be able to buy them the toys they want, the clothes they want, etc… If I had a kid they would grow up loved, but poor.
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I was an RN for most of my child’s life so, thankfully I was always able to provide for him.
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I wouldn’t be opposed to adopting, there are already a lot of living kids in a tough spot. I’m open to that idea at some point in my life.
Kids of my own gene’s? No thank you, my bloodlines have dealt with mental health issues abundantly. It ends with me. I won’t risk giving a biological child that hand of cards to play. I know how hard it is.
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I don’t have kids. I got my fallopian tubes removed about 5 years ago. So, I’m sterilized. No biological babies, for me. The reason: I have too many health problems and I don’t want to pass any of them on to a kid.
My husband and I have thought about adopting an older kid, someday in the future. But that may never happen, because I have too many health problems. I don’t think I could properly care for a child, cause it’s hard enough to care for myself.
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I have twins. they’ll be 29 this year.
I don’t regret it. I wasn’t diagnosed yet,
but I had some post partum depression,
it went away because of sheer joy.
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I have a friend that thinks I’m so wonderful that I should pass on my amazing genes.
Seriously they’ve mentioned it more than twice.
I don’t want children.
Sometimes I do feel broody and even consider it.
But I know deep down, I will never have children.
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poor is a state of mind.
I always worked, and when I filed, got the Earned Income Tax Credit.
one year it was 5K dollars.
and if you need disability, the dependents get a small check every month. I think it’s around 250.
That’s not enough in my mind. For me to even consider having kids I would want to make $50,0000/year and my wife as well. While i could afford kids with less than that I wouldn’t be happy not being able to provide them the things they want. Anything less would just stress me out and I wouldn’t feel like a good parent.
As a man I don’t think I would be able to provide a child with what it needed ( A WHOLE BUNCH OF MONEY). So I don’t want kids at all.
Even if it were financially possible (lets say I had won the lottery) I think I would still not be so keen on the idea tbh.
But life is other than money. You can have a happy childhood with lovning and caring parents even if they can’t buy you a lot of things.
I agree to that love isn’t everything either, but then in this thread I’m thinking of if the parents are able to provide for their kids. You can have a lot of love but be too sick to take care of a child.
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I had my first psychotic episode at 16/17. Had my daughter at 30. She’s 5 now. It’s been really hard sometimes, but I’m pretty stable now.
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Money isn’t everything, but it is important. It’s just a personal choice I’ve made. Unless I feel like I can provide for the child the way I want I am not going to have children. I would love them, support them, guide them, teach them but I also want them to have some nice things.
I knew a lot of poor kids in primary school and they would be hanging out at other peoples houses playing their friends Nintendo’s or playing with their friends toys wishing they had them, stuff like that, or they were ashamed of their clothes because they were not brand names or had tears in them, their parents loved them but they didn’t have much, and I think it made them feel bad on some level, even jealousy, envy and shame I suspect.
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Yes, I have five lovely children. All after I was diagnosed and married. I do understand why some people with mental illnesses wouldn’t want children though. It’s easier to raise them, once mentally stable.
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I have no kids of my own but I have a pretty good relationship with my two nieces and nephew and I am content with that.
I don’t ever see myself having kids though.
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well we wore uniforms in my parchial school.
the only shame was getting free lunch, but it’s totally different today.
I don’t but do want them in the future. I have too many genetic disorders so I don’t plan on having any that are mine, I want my kids to be as healthy as possible.