At the heart of ‘Game with Mum & Dad’ is the commitment to providing children with opportunities and spaces to express their emotions, share their individual stories and share their dreams about spending time with their parent in prison. Through drawings and other creative outlets, children are able to communicate experiences they may find difficult to put into words.
Led by Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) and following the model developed by the NGO Bambinisenzasbarre, ‘Game with Mum & Dad’ is a global initiative designed to create meaningful, supportive spaces for children to connect with their imprisoned parents through activities like sport, shared meals and games. This program provides families impacted by imprisonment with opportunities to strengthen bonds, share laughter and memories. It’s about more than just a day of fun—the mission is to uphold every child’s right to maintain a relationship with their parents (as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). It aims to provide a supportive environment where children and their imprisoned parents can create lasting memories, offering a sense of comfort and of closeness.
Comic strips from Czech Republic
During the GWMD event hosted at an open prison north east of Prague (Jirice Prison) children created comic strips to talk about their experience of being separated from their parent, their participation in the game and their wishes for the future. The drawings of children speak volumes: they are full of emotion, brimming with the love and care children feel for their parents and the difficulty of separation in these circumstances.
(My memory / How I’ve been preparing for today) “When I can’t see my dad, I try to remember what we’ve experienced together. Or I think of what I would like to do with him.”
(Left picture) “In this picture, dad and I are watching a movie together.”
(Right picture) “And in this picture, dad is comforting me after a ball had hit me.”
(There is an underground station and a bus stop in the picture.) “Wow, I’m looking forward to seeing my dad today like crazy, but I’m quite tired. I’ll have a cup of coffee and hopefully I’m going to feel better. I would like to go for a walk.”
To be continued…
