Expert Corner

In many ways children with an imprisoned parent grow up just like other children, yet the unusual circumstances that these children face raise a series of psychological and social questions which we try to answer here, in our Expert corner.

Fathers in Prison

The subject of children separated from an imprisoned parent raises a series of psychological and social issues, for the children as well as for the parents

Telling a Child the Truth

Every individual bases his or her sense of legitimacy on the certainty of having been loved. We cannot generalize about the impact of separation on a child due to a parent's imprisonment; it is contingent upon the child's age, the length of the prison sentence, the family dynamic and other key variables. But a child who perceives this separation as abandonment risks seeing him or herself as being unworthy of being loved.

Special Needs of Prisoners’ Children

Children who have one or more parents in prison face an additional set of challenges. In addition to dealing with the separation of an parent for with irregular visits they may live in unstable and chaotic environments and are often exposed to social stigma by society.