When thinking about what topic I should write about for this essay I had so many ideas I couldn’t decide. At first my brain went to Monarch Butterfly migration because of the animal lover in me but I didn’t really like the way it connected to the theme the more I thought about it. I also wanted to go with my uncle’s journey throughout Vietnam but that didn’t quite fit for me either. I decided to go with talking about my experience growing up with an incarcerated parent because it’s more personal and I’ve always been kind of curious on the statistics of kids who grow up with an incarcerated parent. I’ve never sat down and considered it so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for that and to also learn more about myself in the process. It’s a topic I’m open with and I think is important to share with other people because it’s not an easy thing to go through and not everyone gets through it. …show more content…
For example; smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and unhealthy weight status. I want to connect this to my own experience by comparing if I meet these statistics and if I differ from something what could possibly be the reason why. I know from my own experience the emotional roller coaster I went through but what was it like for other kids? I want to look at this essay from a psychologist stand point to explain more why I am the way I am and why other people do things. While still considering that there could be other factors at play other than just a parent being in
When a person becomes a parent, their role in life undoubtedly changes. The person must become a teacher, a guide, and a helping hand in the life of the child. Research has shown that there is a distinct connection between how a child is raised and their overall developmental outcome. John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of the regular and sustained contact between the parent-infant or parent-child relationship (Travis & Waul 2003). Yet, what happens when the only physical contact a child can share with their parent is a hand pressed on the shield of glass that separates the two? What happens when the last memory of their mother or father was from the corner of their own living room as they watched their parent become handcuffed? In 2007, there was an estimate of approximately 1.7 million children of incarcerated parents in the United States (Poehlmann, Dallaire, Loper & Shear 2010). Of those 1.7 million children, 58% of those children are under the age of 10, with the mean age being 8 (Travis & Waul 2003). The children of incarcerated parents are often moved from one family and one school to the next. The child must cope with this issue in home and in school, and may find it especially hard to cope with during school. Schools, however, can be a safe place for these children. This research explored the psychological effects of parent incarceration on the child, the school-based problems that occur as a result, and what educators can do to support children of incarcerated parents.
Studies show parental incarceration can be more traumatic to students than even a parent's death or divorce, and the damage it can cause to students' education, health, and social relationships puts them at higher risk of one day going to prison themselves.(Sparks,
In 2007 there were approximately 77,200 fathers and 65,600 mothers incarcerated in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2007). As our society continues to grow, our jail and prison population are growing as well. When a parent or guardian is taken into custody the juvenile (child) is taken and released to a relative or child protective services. The children are either given to a close family member or a surrogate parent, meaning a foster home. This may have an emotional impact on the juvenile involved, which may lead them to committing delinquent acts. The children sometimes feel they are left to fend for themselves emotionally and the stress of these emotions are left upon the guardian at the time. These intense sufferings sometimes leave the juveniles in a harmful mental state resembling depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and feelings of abandonment from their parents/guardians. Children with incarcerated parents are five times more likely than their peers to commit crimes (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 2008).
I was twelve years old when my dad was arrested for drug dealing. My dad and I never had a close bond like my little brothers do and it was always bothered me a little. I know he feels bad that our father son relationship is not as good as my brothers but he also felt bad that he lost two years of my childhood. He did not want to do the same to my brothers so he has tried his hardest to be in their lives as much as possible.
“Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.” It’s the most unfortunate and inconvenient rule in the book, triggering paralysis while the other players are free to use their $200 to taunt you while “just visiting” you in the slammer.
When I was 8 my dad went to prison. He had a feeling his time was coming and spent as much time with me as he could before he was taken away. He bought me a silver box chain necklace with a cross before he left and I still keep it hanging from the wall.
“Although nearly 90% of children remain with their mothers when fathers go to prison, grandparents usually care for children when mothers are incarcerated” (Johnson & Waldfogel, 2002; Snell, 1994 as cited in; Poehlmann). This shows that the family structure is more drastically upset when the mother is imprisoned versus the father. This also shows that just losing one parent while staying in the same environment is easier to self-adjust back into equilibrium than it is to fully change and integrate into another household. While the mother is in prison, the child is now in the care of someone else and where that child is, is crucial to their development. This explains that a disrupt in family structure can impact a child’s skills that are necessary to a positive development, such as reading and math skills and the ability to focus in class to learn. Emily Durkheim’s structural functionalism theory can be used to further explain this topic. A child’s family is an organism, no matter that typicality of it’s makeup. Every person has a role in the structure and when a mother is incarcerated that disrupts the system and the children are moved into a new structure, the process towards equilibrium can be tough and in some cases detrimental to their development as they are exposed to more intellectual
About one child in 50 in the United States currently has an incarcerated parent, but ensuing attachment disruptions for children depend substantially on the parent’s gender (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). When fathers are imprisoned (by far the most common occurrence), 88% of the children continue to be cared for by their mothers (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). Only 37% of fathers care for at least one of their children under these circumstances (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18).When mothers are incarcerated, children are most likely to live with a grandmother or aunt with whom they may or may not have a close relationship (Bretherton, 2011, p. 18). The majority of children whose mothers serve prison sentences not only face separation from the person most likely to be their principal attachment figure (Bretherton, 2011, p...
children faced with the trauma of loss, they are also faced with a myriad of other
for youngsters who have a long history of convictions for less serious felonies for which the juvenile court disposition has not been effective” (qtd. in Katel).
The challenges of children who grow up with parents whom were incarcerated at some point in their childhood can have a major effect on their life. The incarceration of parents can at times begin to affect the child even at birth. Now with prison nurseries the impregnated mother can keep her baby during her time in jail. With the loss of their parent the child can begin to develop behavioral problems with being obedient, temper tantrums, and the loss of simple social skills. Never learning to live in a society they are deprived of a normal social life. “The enormous increase incarceration led to a parallel, but far less documented, increase in the proportion of children who grew up with a parent incarcerated during their childhood” (Johnson 2007). This means the consequences of the children of the incarcerated parents receive no attention from the media, or academic research. The academic research done in this paper is to strengthen the research already worked by many other people. The impact of the parent’s incarceration on these children can at times be both positive and negative. The incarceration of a parent can be the upshot to the change of child’s everyday life, behavioral problems, and depriving them a normal social life.
Those blocks (block, block, block) in just plain gray (gray, gray, gray): the perfect surroundings to leave one's mind blank... or insane.
The Reader didn’t really give any insight on how Hanna felt that prison changed her. We heard other people's recounts of her life in those years but we will never know how she felt about it.
This includes, cognitive emotional health, social ability, personality and a healthy adult life (Haddad). All four areas of a Childs development needs are influenced by their environment but most importantly by their parents, or any powerful adult figure in their lives. If a child slowly develops negative behavior in any four aspects, I believe the parents play a part in this. A parent influences what their child is exposed too, different people to new places. My family really provided me with a lot of love and affection as a kid. They would always make sure I had what I needed. In addition, they would always make sure they were being a positive role model for me. My parents did stress me during my developmental years by fighting often. Around the time I was nine my parents separated and eventually divorced. Divorce is a huge deal for the children involved and I believe shaped me into who I am to this day. It can damage them emotionally and eventually lead to problems in the immediate
in said children. A study that can be used to explain the effect parents have on their