By Naike Rosini, Communications Officer at Children of Prisoners Europe
17 December 2025, Fresnes (France) — I saw the children first.
They were waiting outside, shifting from foot to foot, barely able to contain their excitement. Each of them held a Christmas card — carefully made and gripped tightly — ready to be handed to their dad. What struck me, as it always does, was how deeply they wanted to show their best selves. The girls arrived with beautifully elaborate hairstyles, braids threaded with colourful bands, each detail clearly chosen with care. Today was a special day.
Sixteen children and ten imprisoned parents took part in the activities organised at Fresnes Prison by the Relais Enfants Parents IDF as part of the Game with Mum and Dad project.
The afternoon began with an unexpected spectacle: a man performing inside a German wheel. The children watched in amazement as he spun and balanced the wheel. Soon, amazement turned into participation. He invited the children and their fathers to try exercises together, activities built around balance and teamwork. What followed was not careful coordination, but laughter. Parents and children ended up inventing their own playful balancing acts, each child eager to prove that their dad was the strongest of all.
Then came the heart of the day: the football game, the signature moment of GWMD. One child stood out immediately, an eight-year-old girl who stepped forward proudly and announced, “I play football three times a week. I am stronger than all the boys here!” Her confidence was contagious.
Any stiffness that may have lingered at the beginning dissolved completely. Faces lit up, both for fathers and children. For a while, the walls of the prison seemed to fade into the background.
“I had so much fun with daddy today, I am so sweaty now!” one ten-year-old boy told me, smiling from ear to ear.
(© REP IdF)
But as the afternoon drew to a close, the energy shifted. The room grew quieter. Each child found their way back to their father, retreating into small corners to talk. They spoke about the day, about school, about what they would do until the next time they could meet again. These moments are important for them.
Initiatives like GWMD remind us that children are not defined by their parent’s imprisonment. They need space to play with their parents and to know that they are just as eager to see them and play with them. They need to feel safe enough to cry when they are hit by a ball, knowing that their parent is there to comfort them.
GWMD creates a space where children and their imprisoned parents can meet beyond the constraints of a traditional visit, through play and free movement. For a few hours, they are simply families playing together.
