Yikes!! Your visit just got started and your kids are acting up again. Everyone is looking at you and you are trying to decide what to do. Should you spank him, sit him in a chair, talk to him? You feel overwhelmed and intimated by all of the people watching you discipline your child. You think to yourself, “Maybe I should just let it go for now and deal with it later.” Then, he acts out even more.

If this is you, you are not alone. Every mother who regularly takes her children to visit their father in prison faces this situation. This is especially true if you have children under 5 years old. Prison visits are hard on everyone in the family. Knowing how to discipline your children in a prison visiting room can mean the difference between a great visit and a terrible visit.