Do You Want to Read More About Parenting and Mental Health?
For parents with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more
Welcome! We’re a community of parents and caretakers navigating the ups and downs of raising humans born in 2010-2024. Generation Alpha kids are incredibly diverse, digitally native, globally-connected, dedicated to inclusivity, and care deeply about climate activism. Click here to join the conversations and find the support you need.
As I wrote earlier this week, I am hoping to start a regular Monday thread for us parents of Gen Alpha kids to share the ups and downs of our mental health that week. A space that’s freeing, supportive, and anonymous when needed.
You may have also noticed that there was a poll further down in the post… that didn’t work. So here it is again!
As I’ve been opening up more here about my own mental health struggles lately (let’s just say 2023 has NOT been my year), I’ve become more and more interested in the topic of parenting when you have mental health struggles. Because here’s what I learned: I am absolutely not the parent I want to be when I am having a hard time with my own brain, for whatever reason.
And the best way I have found healing is through learning more from expert interviews and personal stories from others. In fact, that’s why I wrote out this thesis statement about my career.
I use storytelling to shine a light on us who find ourselves outside the “norm” so that we all feel less alone. I do this by writing for those of us who face societal barriers, struggle with our mental health, and crave to create a world full of love and acceptance for the next generation of humanity.
As someone who was called the “Black Sheep of the family” and made to feel like I am an “other” in my own home, I am finding it helpful to not only deal with this in therapy (SO MUCH THERAPY) but also by living out loud as a bisexual Latina mom with ADHD. And I know I am not the only parent of a Gen Alpha kid who is still dealing with their own feelings of being called “weird” as a kid or growing up in a marginalized group. Which is why I want to know if you’re here with me, too.
I haven’t specifically written about my attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) here at Raising Gen Alpha yet but I’m pretty open about my ADHD elsewhere. I was actually diagnosed just a couple of years ago, back in August 2021 when Rio was about to turn 1.5 years old. Apparently, it’s becoming more common for adults to get a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis—and even more so for mom to get diagnosed after becoming a parent due to various societal structures and cultural expectations that make our brains implode once we have to take care of a tiny little human. I have a lot more to learn about being a neurodivergent parent, married to a neurodivergent parent, and keeping an eye on my child because they are likely to be neurodivergent too. So… Want to learn with me?
P.S. I’m actually working on a book about this so IF YOU ARE A MOM WITH ADHD, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT raisingenalpha@gmail.com!
As some of you reading this may know but many who may not: I entered rehab in July 2015 for alcohol use disorder and was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder on day one. DAY ONE! It turns out I was drinking to self-medicate. I also wrote about parenting while depressed earlier this summer, and I know I am not the only parent who has anxiety and depression. So, do we want to learn more about how we can parent in the way we want to, even while we’re dealing with some mental shit on our own end?
I’m a bisexual Latina, first and foremost, and this impacts my parenting. Plus, Gen Alpha kids are the most diverse people to walk the Earth (so far)—which includes racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. And yes, they’re probably going to be even more queer than Gen Z (1 in 5 of whom identify as LGBTQIA+ as adults). So I’m wondering if it would be helpful to hear more from queer and/or BIPCO parents, plus parents of queer or multicultural kids about how they’re doing all the things.
As a reminder, you can still vote for which of the 5 things that define Generation Alpha you want to learn more about by clicking here! (Reminder, the 5 traits are that Generation Alpha kids are incredibly diverse, digitally native, globally connected, dedicated to inclusivity, and care deeply about climate activism.)
Join me in conversation… I’d love to hear your stories. Are you a parent who struggles with some mental health issues? You don’t have to tell us what; just reply to this email or comment on the post with a raised hand 🙋🏽♀️ I’d love to hear from all of you!
Talk soon,
Irina (she/her) - raising a March 2020 gen alpha kid