Have you ever seen a movie or television show feature one of those parenting classes, usually with a fumbling dad trying to learn how to swaddle and a very, very pregnant mom? While usually portrayed as comical, parenting classes are actually very critical in learning essential skills for when the baby arrives. Parents who are incarcerated, however, don’t have access to the training they need to be the best parents they can be.
“Children of prisoners are five times more likely to end up in prison” (Bushfield). This is a staggering statistic. Many of these children of inmates are making up the majority of kids in foster care and kids raised by grandparents. Many experts agree that children benefit immensely from having a mother figure and a father figure around, and so incarceration of a parent can be especially difficult for a child. It can also often hinder potential for the family, because the incarcerated parent may not be able to find a job and support their family upon release.
Many men and women who end up in prison are not the best parents around. Is this because they choose not to be, or because they simply don’t know how to raise a child? Teaching positive parenting techniques can help prisoners be better role models when they’re released. Of course, not every prisoner will be a good role model, and certainly not every prisoner should be around children. “There are good reasons to restrict access to children for some prisoners, such as sexual predators, and those with a history of victimization and exploitation of children” (Busfield). Taking these prisoners out of the mix, it is reasonable to say that non-violent offenders who desire to be good parents should receive the training they need in order to do so.
A study in the 1990’s suggested that educating parents was the best way to predict how the family would turn out (Bushfield). Some prisons institute small-scale classes, like 30-day classes or similar structures. This is a good way to reach out to fathers and mothers in prison and help them reexamine their lives and what is important to them. Whatever the class structure, inmates who genuinely want to be better people and better parents should have the opportunity to strive to be better.
“Fathers in prison articulated most often that what had changed the most for them as fathers in prison was their understanding of how to discipline, and their own thinking processes and attitudes” (Bushfield). Practical parenting skills, like learning how to deal with different situations that may arise, will be most valuable to prisoners because they will have the tools they need to enter the real world of parenting. Inmates who are released and rejoin their families and become a positive, loving influence to their kids may help reduce the crime rate if we can lower that “5 times more likely to go to prison” statistic that is so alarming. And it may just start with one of those “silly” parenting classes.