According to research, children of incarcerated parents are around five times more likely to end up in prison if there is no parental involvement. However, this doesn’t mean you should give up on trying to prevent that from happening. You’ll have to work within the prison guidelines and continue making arrangements to extend your support.
Here are some ways to go about it:
Having a rock-solid support system
Parenting isn’t easy—for both incarcerated and non-incarcerated families. Even if you can’t be there to foster your child’s emotional and mental wellbeing, you can always seek help from someone you trust. This help could come from a trusted friend, family, professional social service and mental health experts. Seek help from someone who understands your child’s needs.
Encourage them to be open about their feelings.
Whoever is taking care of the children in your absence should be honest to them. There is no point in lying to a child that their parent is away on a business trip. The kids won’t like it if a third-party breaks the news to them.
There is also no need to get into unnecessary details. The caretaker should narrate whatever happened according to their age and level of understanding. The child should be told that it’s not their fault, the parent is behind bars and tell them that just because their parent is behind bars doesn’t mean they don’t care for them. Encourage the child to be open about their feelings. Convince them that it’s natural to feel whatever they feel like.
Stay in touch!
Your child needs you even if you’re incarcerated. Try and maintain a meaningful and positive connection throughout this time. Every time the jail authorities allow you to make a phone call, speak to them. Write them letters as often as you can and encourage them to write back to you. Draw drawings and pictures and ask your kids to send back some photographs too. As a parent, you’ll have very limited visit time to spend with the family. Please make the most out of it.
The best way to continue being a good parent behind bars is to reunite with them as soon as possible. The only entity that can help you do so is a bail bond agency like DeLaughter Bail Bonds. We are an affordable bail bond service operating 24/7 in Indiana. Book our services now.
