Every culture has its own stories about what it means to be a “good parent”. In Canada, this includes a parent who has the resources to look after children in a consistently nurturing manner, a parent who will put the needs of her children before her or his own needs, and a parent who can meet the challenges of parenting in a variety of different circumstances. The portrayal of “good parent” excludes parents who love their children but have difficulties of their own that sometimes get in the way of meeting their children’s needs. These parents are often judged harshly in our society and their different experiences of “mother” and “father” are misrepresented, diminished, or dismissed. Sometimes, their children are removed from their care. There are many parents “on the margins” who face these circumstances; included in this group are parents who experience mental health difficulties. In Canada, 12.1% of all children under the age of twelve lives with a parent who has been given at least one psychiatric diagnosis in the previous twelve months (Bassani, Padoin, Phillipp, & Veldhuizen, 2009).