Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Unfortunately, I would need much more information than you provide in your question, before I could even begin to provide a meaningful answer. Manic depression is a common disorder that can be mild or extreme, and often can be controlled with medication. Has she been diagnosed as manic depressive by a psychiatric professional? If so, has she been prescribed medication to control it and is she taking it regularly? Are there substance abuse issues in connection with her disorder? Is it your wife's mood swings and their psychological effect on the children that concern you, or are they coupled with uncontrolled or impulsive behavior that puts the children at physical hazard? Are the children very young and therefore especially vulnerable? Is their school attendance and performance suffering as a result of your wife's condition? Where children are concerned, there are no hard-and-fast answers, and the trend in Pennsylvania is against isolating children from either parent unless there is a compelling reason to do so. If you believe that the children are in immediate physical danger from your wife you may wish to consider either a protection from abuse petition (but you had better have great evidence!), or involving the local child protective services (with the caution that once they become involved it is sometimes impossible to remove them from the situation). I recommend highly that you consult with a family law attorney in detail about the situation, and see what guidance you can get. Where children are concerned, it is hard to get information meaningful to your particular situation from a generalized question.