Children of Incarcerated Parents

April 23, 2012

I found a fact sheet about the children of incarcerated parents.  I found it very interesting due to the fact that it's something that's often overlooked.  It was interesting to know that from the 1995 to 2005, the percentage of incarcerated mothers increased 57% compared to incarcerated fathers.  Also, the average age of the children who have incarcerated parents is 8.  Reading this makes me think about what I would have done if I was 8 years old with an incarcerated parent.  But then again, most times 8 year old probably wouldn't even be able to fully understand.

The fact sheet then begins to discuss things that often happen to children with incarcerated parents.  Some things include, shame, behavioral problems in school or public, and most important, instability with family relationships.  Reading this sections make me think about my nephew.  His mother is incarcerated and is serving 10 years.  Instead of him telling people where his mother is, he tells everyone that he doesn't have a mother.

I believe parents being incarcerated while a child is young leaves  a big impact on the child's life.  Often time, people assume that children aren't old enough to understand what's going on, but in actuality children notice everything.




Tanai K.

"Children of Incarcerated Parents Fact Sheet". http://211.idaho.gov/pdf/COIP_Factsheet.pdf. web.