Kate Nash asked authors to reveal the embarrassing, weird or misunderstood ways their parents’ health issues have affected their parenting. We’ve collected the stories
Do You Have a Story About Seeing Your Parent Differently?
If you’ve experienced ill health as a parent or sibling then you are not alone. A variety of issues from a stroke to a heart attack to multiple sclerosis impact your family in different ways.
I’m on a mission to #unmaskstories every day. Today’s is from my sister, who wishes I didn’t talk about her cataracts with her six year old.
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More stories to read
Author Kirsty McCammon has described how her parents’ premature births became paralysing meagre clues that she was going to be part of a “duology of depression”. The writer also wrote about how running helped her heal her relationship with her father.
We’ve also discovered which illness alters your parenting in the most drastic ways.
Mommie Dearest
We hear the stories of people who write about how illness has shaped their mother’s relationships, eating disorders, parenting styles and health problems.
Some of the stories you’ve submitted about parenting diseases and illnesses are:
“My mother has heart disease and I have said some pretty awful things to her about it. I think the mistakes I’ve made with my words and body speak louder than words alone.”
A lady who confessed: “I was a spoilt little brat with my own babies because of something my parents did.”
Another lady wrote: “My mom took 4 months off of work to recover from cancer. My siblings didn’t know what to do with themselves. They had their own lives too. We all do different things, some quite ordinary for the common folk, some as colourful as the musicals we saw growing up.”
Author Katrina Taylor chose to tell us of how cancer highlighted a series of dysfunctional parenting issues and she decided to put down the phones and step away from the TV.
Katrina explained: “I’ve written a LOT about my illness and it’s made me very honest, very honest about being able to see why a parent is with you. Now they are gone, I’m more willing to see the reason. It’s a beautiful thing. I have a second daughter on the way and it’s a little bit strange that she has her dad to hug and kiss, and I am able to smile, but more than anything I want a conversation with her about love, acceptance and acceptance that I had as a child with my dad. Now it’s her turn.”
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Have you experienced living with an illness or something unexpected that has affected your parenting? Email [email protected] and share your story.