My experiences-I hate the diagnosis and I hate the drugs, but when I decide I am not really in need of meds because the dx must be wrong, I get really messed up one way or the other.
As for children, I can only speak for my own. My son was dxed at 11, and is 13 now. I hate it for him, too. I can easily compare him to other 13 year olds because he is a triplet. When he grows out of his meds, we all know it is time to get to the psychiatrist!
I believe that bp is hereditary in my case. My dad had it. My mom, grandmother, brother and sister all had/have some form of mental illnesses. Life was pretty hellish growing up before I finally went on meds.
This is only my story. I don't know whether there are too many misdiagnoses or not.
Bluemountains