Practical Support for Children with a Mother in Prison: Reflections from a Practitioner

A double-edged sword: Children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison in Scotland

“…Equally, as discussed by Long et al (2019), children can derive much support from their peers, especially those with similar experiences, yet for children of prisoners, this remains an untapped resource. As an academic and practitioner working with children with a parent in prison, Brookes (2020) highlights that peer support facilitates an 'intrinsic understanding' and has the potential to build resilience in children. Further exploration of this support as a resource is therefore merited.…”

“…The quality of the relationship between the imprisoned parent and those caring for their children is therefore critical to the parents' ability to maintain contact with their children. This can be particularly challenging when the relationship is fractured, with some carers refusing or being reluctant to facilitate contact (Lockwood, 2018;Poehlmann, 2005); this may be motivated by a desire to protect the child from having to experience the prison environment (Brookes, 2020) or to further punish the parent in prison (Flynn, 2014). However, contact may also be prohibited by statutory agencies, such as Social Services or Probation, owing to safeguarding concerns (Ansbro, 2014).…”

Stigma, Outsider Status and Mothers in Prison

“…Prison officers, however, who undertook the visiting security checks viewed the wearing of uniforms differently and said it was 'necessary for security' or was an opportunity for children to see that prison officers in uniform were 'friendly and approachable'. This, however, was not how many of the mothers viewed it and the stigma attached to the mothers' imprisonment, therefore, was felt to be extended to family members (Easterling & Feldmeyer, 2017) with this often resulting in mothers preferring that their children did not visit (Brookes, 2020). A mother in the focus group said:…”

“…Prison officers, however, who undertook the visiting security checks viewed the wearing of uniforms differently and said it was 'necessary for security' or was an opportunity for children to see that prison officers in uniform were 'friendly and approachable'. This, however, was not how many of the mothers viewed it and the stigma attached to the mothers' imprisonment, therefore, was felt to be extended to family members (Easterling & Feldmeyer, 2017) with this often resulting in mothers preferring that their children did not visit (Brookes, 2020). A mother in the focus group said: I have told my mother not to bring the children here and not to come herself, I am not putting them through all this… they have not done anything wrong but they will have to deal with all this ….and I don't want my babies or my mother to be treated like they don't matter…I just don't want it so I would prefer it if they stayed away Guilt was also evident with mothers feeling 'ashamed of myself as a mother' that they had put their children through the security checks, for example, which further reinforced for some mothers that they were 'not good mothers' or were 'not proper mothers' who 'were unable to protect their children'.…”