In-home video chat for young children and their incarcerated parents

Abstract

For millions of children with incarcerated parents worldwide, parent-child visits are suspended because of the worldwide novel coronavirus pandemic. Although child-friendly contact visits with ample opportunities for physical contact are the most meaningful way for young children to connect with their incarcerated parents during times of health, there are other meaningful ways of connecting from a distance. Traditional mediated communication strategies such as phone calls and letters are challenging for very young children because of their limited cognitive, language, and attentional capabilities. New forms of mediated communication, such as in-home video chat, can be accessible and developmentally appropriate for connecting young children with family members who live at a distance, including connecting children with their incarcerated parents. A growing body of international developmental research suggests that video chat may afford children the ability to maintain the benefits of parent-child interactions from a distance, when internet access is available. Thus, in-home video chat between children and their incarcerated parents is a potentially viable option for building relationships during incarceration, especially when opportunities for positive physical contact are limited or non-existent.