As parents, it will be hard to accept the reality that your son or daughter must live in prison because of a crime he/she committed. Surely, you will be worried that your son or daughter becomes depressed and gives up, furthermore if your son or daughter must be held in prison for 15 years when he/she is 20 years old. You cannot imagine how broken he/she is. So, what can you do to make your son or daughter feel better in prison? Keep reading the text below to find out some things you need to know.
What Can Parents Do to Make Their Son or Daughter Not Depressed in Prison?
When you must accept this bad reality, you can do any good thing that can make your son or daughter not depressed. Remember that you are the big support system for your beloved son or daughter.
Here are some things you can do:
1. Visit Him/Her as Often as You Can, and Stay Consistent
You should visit your incarcerated loved one as often as you can. And, make sure you do that consistently. Make a routine schedule to visit him/her. Do not visit him/her a lot at the beginning, then several months later you seldom go to the prison where your son or daughter is always waiting for you. Surely, your son or daughter will want to meet you every time. When you visit him/her, it will be a precious time in his/her life.
2. Send Him/Her a Letter or Photo
Always communicate with your son or daughter through the mail or email service. You can send him/her a letter and some photos to amuse him/her. A letter written by you will be a precious item. Also, holding a print photo is a lot better than only seeing it on the kiosk or tablet. Usually, prison will not permit the inmates to bring tablets. So, letters and print photos will be precious items to accompany him/her pass time of isolation. To make your son or daughter feel better in the prison, make sure you stay consistent sending letters or photos for him/her.
3. Send Him/Her Money
Aside from sending letters and photos, surely you must send money for your son or daughter who are in prison. There are many facilities you can use to send money for the inmate. Make sure you send money sufficiently. It means that you do not send money so much. Typically, inmates do not need a lot of money to live well in prison. Even, things in prison normally are cheaper than in the world outside. While you cannot determine how your son or daughter will use the money, you can budget it. For example, you can budget money for him/her twenty dollars per week. Another reason why you should not send money so much is to avoid your son or daughter being a target for extortion. If other inmates know your son or daughter gets a lot of money from home then they will tend to do extortion. So, always send your son or daughter money sufficiently as suit as his/her needs.
4. Never Hold Information Away from Him/Her
Do not add his/her depression by telling lies or holding information away from him/her. If a family member gets hurt or dies, you must tell it to your son or daughter. You may think that it will only add to the burden of thoughts of your son or daughter. But in fact, it will hurt your son or daughter more when he/she finds out you lied. So, never hold information or lie to your son or daughter who is being held in prison. If you do that, your son or daughter will be disappointed in you.
5. Include Him/Her in Everything
Although your son or daughter is held in prison, it is not wrong for you to make decisions with him/her. Always cherish him/her. By doing that, he/she will feel accepted as a family member. 15 years is not a short time. At that time, there may be a new family member. So, you should introduce other new family members to him/her. Of course, your son or daughter will be happy if he/she knows a lot of people care for him/her.
6. Get Him/Her Subscriptions to Magazines or Newspapers
The inmates will find it hard to get information outside. Therefore, you can get your son or daughter who is in prison subscriptions to magazines or newspapers. This will be another window to follow with the world. If you give him/her subscriptions to magazines or newspapers, then he/she will easily know news or events occurring outside of the prison. Also, if your son or daughter likes reading books, you can also send him/her some books. Before you send books, firstly make sure you check the prison’s policy.
Well, those are things you can do as parents to make your son or daughter in prison not depressed and give up. Keep in mind that you are the best support system for him/her. Always do your best for your son or daughter.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
