About a year ago I woke up to the sound of banging on the front door. It was pitch black outside and the loud noise frightened me. The door was broken down and I heard lots of shouting downstairs. It was the Police. They had come to arrest my Dad but I didn’t know what he had done wrong. I had never seen a police officer up close before. I was scared and confused…
Mum came into my room followed by Lola, my dog who was barking loudly. I think she was scared too. Mum told me not to worry, that the police had made a mistake and that I should get ready for school. When I went downstairs the house looked really messy, like we had been burgled.
School was really difficult that day. I found it hard to concentrate and I was worried about going home. I didn’t tell anyone at school what had happened that morning.
When Mum picked me up from school I could tell she had been crying. We got home and Dad wasn’t there. Mum said Dad was probably going to go to prison because the police thought he had done something bad.
It felt like a long time before I was allowed to visit Dad in prison. I missed him every day and would see and hear things that reminded me of him. That made me feel upset and angry that he was gone.
I was nervous the first time I visited Dad. I didn’t know what to expect and felt scared that if I went into the prison I wouldn’t be allowed to leave.
Now I enjoy going to visit him. The staff in the visitor centre are really kind and the prison officers are always friendly.
Sometimes I get to go on a special visit with Dad, where we can play games and do activities together which is really fun. I can also write to him and speak to him on the phone sometimes too.
Visiting our dad
