"DAD IN JAIL"

�I'm searching for research on what is in the best interest of the child when the father is in jail. My son's dad will be sentenced on March 8, 2005 and will get a minimum of eight years. I'm trying to figure out what is best for my 6-month old son. Do I have his grandparents take him to see him in jail? What happens in eight years when he gets out of jail? I know that's a long time away but I'm just trying to figure out what will be in his best interest in the long run and as he grows up. We are also getting a divorce but I think that my situation is little different than most divorce cases. If you could lead me in the right direction as far as research goes, I'd appreciate it.�

It seems you have a choice to make about how involved your child�s father will be in his son�s life. I personally feel that children should grow up with a father figure involved. Without that, there will something missing in the child�s life. Having a dad who is jail doesn�t mean that dad is out of the picture. Frequent visits are great and then letter writing when the child is older. So, this should be the plan as long as dad is not dangerous to the child. In eight years, then dad will have some catching up to do, and can start taking him to baseball games, etc. You might find a research paper on this subject in the child psychology journals. These might be helpful to see how other kids turned out, but each situation is different, and you know your situation better than anyone else.