Author(s): Walter Jackie

Education

A sensitive and moving account of having a parent in prison, written from a child's point of view

Dad's gone away for a while, but I don't understand why. I miss him.

Every year in the UK, over 200,000 children suffer the trauma of parental imprisonment. Children with a parent in prison feel isolated, ashamed - unable to talk about their situation because they are scared of being bullied and judged. They often feel that they are to blame and having a parent in prison marks them as an outcast.

Children with parents in prison are:
- twice as likely to experience conduct and mental health problems, and less likely to do well at school
- three times more likely to be involved in offending
- sixty-five per cent of boys with a convicted father will go on to offend

This sensitively written picture book explores the experience of having a parent in prison from a child's point of view. Perfect for sharing with children, it promotes understanding and provides reassurance. It has been written with the advice and support of Storybook Dads, a charity that seeks to help children and parents maintain their relationship during imprisonment by providing CD recordings of fathers reading bedtime stories to their children.