Parents Behind Bars: What Happens To Their Children: Article Analysis

The article “Parents Behind Bars: What Happens to Their Children?” by David Murphey and P. Mae Cooper emphasizes the impact that the incarceration of parents has on their children. The article states that “Children do not often figure in discussions of incarceration, but new research finds more than five million U.S. children have had at least one parent in prison at one time or another.” What impact does this have on children? Research shows that the outcomes associated with incarceration are almost always negative. The child experiences traumatic stress and loss of “an attachment figure”. The child may also be experiencing continued encounters with law enforcement and the corrections system and similar things which only increase the traumatization.

Many children who have had an incarcerated parent also have witnessed violences, and lived with someone who had a substance abuse problem or was mentally ill.

The incarceration of a parent puts a sever strain on a child’s emotions and causes hurts and experiences that will emotionally affect a child for life. Research show that younger school-age children were more likely to have emotional difficulties if they had an incarcerated parent. Children of an incarcerated parent also face rejection. It is interesting to note that research showed that older youth were less distressed by parental incarceration, perhaps because incarceration was not as recent.

With one parent in jail, the child may end up with a single parent working two and three jobs to make enough money or tossed around among foster homes. So while the child is suffering from the unexplainable and is unable to control the incredible hurt placed upon him, he has no one to instruct him how to handle the emotions he feels. If the child does have a parent caring for him, the parent may or may not care for the child, but is probably struggling with emotional control

also.

The article discusses possibility for the children to have more visits with their parents in order for them to maintain a positive relationship with their parent(s) during this period of incarceration. Unfortunately, when children do get to visit their children, the visits can be distressful and frightening. The article proposes that children should be able to visit their parents in a child-friendly environment. “Encouraging communication between parents in prison and their children, and improving the settings for visits, are good places to start. Educators can help by becoming better informed about the needs of this group, and developing strategies to improve their chances of success in the school setting.” I think it is good to help the child adjust and view the new situation in a better light; however, as sad as it may seem, some children would be better off without the bad influence of their parents.
The instances of parent incarceration are a great opportunity for believers to find ways to show com for to children. Believers should be minister to the child and family of the imprisoned person. This is a great opportunity to share the love of G-d and show the family that there is a prison even worse than what their parent may be in, but they themselves may be in it…do they want to be freed? Believers can also explain to the child what the parent is not able to and may help them with any emotional struggles they may have.