Abstract
AIM: To address the limited understanding of everyday family experiences of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder and to explore the effects of parental mood instability on young children and the possibility of early interventions to promote parent-child interaction and bonding. BACKGROUND: One of the most challenging mental health disorders is widely acknowledged to be bipolar disorder. The everyday family experiences of individuals with this diagnosis, as well as their personal experiences, are far less well documented than the clinical and medical aspects. The effects of parental mood instability on their young children and the possibility of early interventions to promote parent-child interaction and bonding are poorly studied. CONTRIBUTION TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE: This paper adds to the existing knowledge that a lot of familial instability and parenting issues arise with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which can cause a myriad of issues for the developing child, even at a young age. This paper also describes the use of shared book reading as a medium for a parent with bipolar disorder to spend time and bond with their child, even during their alternating mood states. IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH NURSING: Mental health nursing and other rehabilitation professionals could utilise these simple tasks to encourage the use of this method, thereby promoting parent-child bonding and interaction.