Parenting as a whole takes a great deal of commitment and time. It provides a whole new world of challenges, worries, and love. To make the challenge even greater, sometimes one of the parents is serving prison time. While parenting together while one of the parents is serving time can be incredibly difficult, it is far from impossible.
Communication:
Communication is and always will be the most important part of parenting. This is no different even when serving time in prison. If you’re serving time, it is important you keep a consistent schedule of communicating with your child. Phone calls and letters to your child are great. However, a consistent way of communicating with the child’s other parent is also important. This allows the other parent to inform you of things going on with the child that the child may not be comfortable saying or just things the parent has noticed. Communication is key to any relationship, whether it be with the child or the other parent.
Visitation:
This also plays into communication. Physically being able to see your child from prison is important to both the inmate and the child. Right now, with the COVID-19, this may be more of a challenge. However, some prisons are offering video calls to loved ones so that they are still able to see each other while others have begun to start opening up visitation again. Take advantage of anything you can do to actually see your loved ones from prison. It’s important for the child to see their parent and know how much you miss them. It’s important for the inmate because it can offer mental health benefits and serve as a reminder to work hard to be able to be with them again when you’re out.
Commitment to Improvement:
At the end of the day, one of the biggest things you can do to be an excellent parent from prison is to show you are committed to being better going forward. By showing your dedication to being a mother/father and person as a whole, your child and the other parent will see you are truly determined to be the best parent you can be going forward. Find ways to prove it yourself and to your family that you want to do better and be better. Set a good example for your child and as they get older, find ways you can teach them proper self-improvement.
While you’re at it, be sure to remind your child as much as you can that you love them and miss them. You got this!