# What's it like having a parent in jail?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 31, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622 "2007-08-31T15:16:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622/1 "2007-08-31T15:16:35Z")

</div>

Have any of you ever had (or been) an imprisoned parent?  
Do you resent them? Worry about them? Miss them? Feel ashamed of them? What is it like, visiting your parent or having your child visit you? Is it mostly a happy occasion? Do you get a long visit? Or is it generally just a few minutes to chat?  
Do you know of any style reading I can do to learn more about it? I am asking purely out of curiousity, so would prefer reading that’s not too technical or legal.

Thanks!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622/2 "2007-08-31T15:48:43Z")

</div>

[http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb\_ss\_gw/105-0213100-7239611?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=parents+in+prison&Go.x=7&Go.y=12](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-0213100-7239611?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=parents+in+prison&Go.x=7&Go.y=12)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622/3 "2007-08-31T15:56:29Z")

</div>

Thanks!  
I didn’t even really try a search, duh.  
I’ll look into them.

I’d still be interested in personal experiences, if anyone has one.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-having-a-parent-in-jail/417622/4 "2007-08-31T16:00:00Z")

</div>

I don’t know personally, but among my juvenile defendants, a very high proportion of them have one or both parents incarcerated. In fact, I can’t think offhand of one who doesn’t have an incarcerated parent. That’s not to say that every child of an inmate will become a juvenile offender, but it’s a high risk factor.