10 August 2019, Kathmandu
Children’s are the adorable gift of the god in the living planet. A child’s innocence is precious that simply refers to their simplicity. Nobody is supposed to spoil his or her childhood but providing them nurturing environment with all the basic human needs. They must be protected with love, care and special attention taking into account their physical, mental and emotional phenomenon. They have equal rights to get access into good education, dignity and a safer childhood. However, the bitter fact is that not all children’s are supposed to enjoy their childhood due to many reasons. Some are being excessively imperiled by abuse, neglect, domestic and community violence and poverty. They are being compelled to struggle and fall into hopelessness without effective interventions and efforts.
There may be various sorts of reasons behind the lacking of careful childhood. But, the most common and astonishing reason are to be the children of incarcerated parents. Having a parent in prison can have an immense impact on a child’s mental health, social behavior and educational prospects. It can also directly lead to emotional trauma and the practical hindrances of a disruptive family can be compounded as the social stigma. In addition to this, children’s who have an incarcerated parent may experience financial hardship. It can eventually leads to destructive and violent behavior that may create unhealthy termination of parental rights.
Children of incarcerated parents may also face a number of other challenging circumstances. They may also have to experience trauma regarding their parents arrest or experiences. They are more likely to face other adverse childhood experiences including violence or exposure to drug and alcohol abuse. Such children’s are confronting with many challenges which have increased rates of substance abuse and behavioral disorders. This may also implies in the reduction of proximity and parental love with their children’s. Even after the release from the imprisonment, it is not easy for the incarcerated parents to commence normal life again with their children’s.
Indira Thapa Magar, founder of the Prisoners Assistance Nepal has been neutrally working for thirty years as a child right activist. She stated that “the major challenge of incarcerated parents children’s facing now are a better today and a secured future particularly from poor and disadvantaged group. Thapa further added that such children’s are more vulnerable and thus easy to exploit them in human trafficking among other illegal activities. Another challenge is of course to break the social stigma that the outer society has been developing which directly affects in their identity protection. To overcome all these challenges, the state should provide legal obligation to support the children of prisoners.
Thus, one should drive the incentive trying to make a change for the children’s of incarcerated parents. Each individuals, child right activist and government should seek the tool they need to rebuild such children’s lives. Corrective measures should be taken to save them from higher risk for negative life outcomes. Whatever may be the reason for their parent’s imprisonment, they have to be treated equally like other ordinary children’s to achieve a healthy and well secured future. All they need and require is the only support to live a normal life.
