I don't know the details of your situation, so I can't really help you make this decision. I will tell you about my husband and I and our 3 children.

My husband and I both have bipolar disorder and PTSD. My husband also has BPD. We have 3 sons and have always managed to maintain a healthy family life for them despite our own issues. Personally I would have never been able to send my sons away. I think it would crush them; I know it would crush me.

The only time they have been sent to relatives was briefly (one week) while I was hospitalized as a way of taking some pressure off my husband. It was over a Thanksgiving holiday so they were off from school and family was gathering at the home of the family they went to so it was really more of a treat/vacation for them.

My oldest son once wrote a beautiful, yet heart-wrenching poem about those times I've been away during hospitalization. Basically it expressed how difficult it was for me to be away during those times, even though they were only a week or so at a time. Being away from parents IS extremely hard on kids, and they attach meaning to it, sometimes mistaken, that we need to recognize and be willing to really hear.

So we've pretty much always kept our children with us despite our own issues. We've been open and honest with them (age appropriately) about our struggles, but having as normal a home life as possible has always been our priority for them. We feel that is our responsibility to them, and I don't think they would have wanted things any other way.