Parents, carers and practitioners supporting a child with a parent in prison may find this diary-style PDF a gentle way into difficult conversations. It speaks in a child’s voice about confusion, secrecy, anger, worry and sadness after Dad goes away, making it relevant for family support, school pastoral care, counselling and social work.
At home, in school pastoral support or in a family work session, the illustrated diary format could help a child begin to name what is happening after a parent has been sent to jail. The pages are written as “My Diary”, with short sentences, hand-drawn images and changing text styles that match a young person’s muddled thoughts.
The story begins with Dad being away for four weeks and the child first being told he was working. It then shows the hurt of discovering that Dad is actually in prison, including feeling let down, hating lies and struggling with the “big fat” secret that adults kept from them.
Feelings are shown very directly: angry, scared, sad and worried. The child asks the kinds of questions many children and kids with an imprisoned parent may carry quietly, such as whether Dad is locked up all day, what prison is really like, whether he is being fed properly and whether the child did something wrong.
Social workers, family support workers, counsellors, school staff and kinship or foster carers could use the PDF as a conversation starter rather than a formal worksheet. It may be especially suited to primary age children who have a dad, mum or close family member in prison and need a safe, visual way to explore parental imprisonment, incarceration, separation, guilt and reassurance.
