The results of PISA studies over recent years have revealed the social selectivity of the scholastic education system. Based on my empirical research on families with mentally ill parents, I show how, for the children involved, social exclusion begins before they even start school. I also show how parents' mental illness is seen to affect children, and what support such families require. The findings demonstrate how important it is to take family coping situations into account in education discourse concerning child and youth welfare services and formal education systems.