Watch this video for some advice from someone who’s lived through this stress: Remember, you can be there, but you can’t live someone else’s life, not even for a loved one.

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for me, you have three options:

1. Post a question in the comments section below,
2. Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,
3. Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

I also welcome questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Have you turned to support groups and how did that help you through this time in your life?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

Russian sailor Vitaly Bondarenko, right, hugs his children as his wife Marina Ordynskaia looks on, after being released by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services Thursday, Oct. 23, 2003, in Providence, R.I.

Click on the player above or download this video here. (iPhone version)

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for me, you have three options:

1. Post a question in the comments section below,
2. Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,
3. Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

I also welcome questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Have you turned to support groups and how did that help you through this time in your life?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

A member of the Fortune Society, a non-profit that helps inmates adjust to life outside, leads a group counseling session in New York in 2009.

My mother was just sentenced to 3-9 years for second degree grand larceny. I am a mom of two teenagers. Life seems so unfair. The pain and worry are almost to much to bare. I am wondering if anyone knows if there is any other way to get money on a commisary account other then by mail or dropping it off? Are there any support groups for families of the prisoners? What services are available to inmates? Is there a website for Bedford Hills Correctional Facility?

I decided to answer those questions this week in my monthly video column:

Click on the player above or download this video here. (iPhone version)
If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for me, you have three options:

1. Post a question in the comments section below,
2. Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,
3. Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

I also welcome questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Have you turned to support groups and how did that help you through this time in your life?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

President-elect Barack Obama waves from the back of the train at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia as he embarks on his inaugural whistle stop train trip to Washington, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009.

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for me, you have three options:

1. Post a question in the comments section below,
2. Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,
3. Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

I also welcome questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

Click on the player above or download this video here. (iPhone version)

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: How has your parent’s incarceration affected your interest in staying in school?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

1. Post a question in the comments section below,
2. Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,
3. Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

I also welcome questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

Click on the player above or download this video here. (iPhone version)

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: How has your parent’s incarceration affected your interest in staying in school?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for Makeba, you have three options:

1) Post a question in the comments section below,

2) Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,

3) Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

Makeba also welcomes questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

Click on the player above or download this video here. (iPhone version)

Makeba describes how children form impressions of the incarcerated parent when he or she is missing from the child’s daily life.

In her previous column, Makeba discussed how she would raise children but why she is not quite ready for that responsibility herself. In her first column, she introduced her mother as the two prepared to spend their first mother’s day together.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: What are some impressions you have formed about your incarcerated parent? And when you visit, how true is that impression compared to the real person?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for Makeba, you have three options:

1) Post a question in the comments section below,

2) Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,

3) Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

Makeba also welcomes questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

Makeba discusses how she would raise children but why she is not quite ready for that responsibility herself.

In last week’s column, she described being raised by her godparents while her mother was incarcerated. In her first column, she introduced her mother as the two prepared to spend their first mother’s day together.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: How has the experience of being the child of an incarcerated parent affected your feeling on having children of your own?

[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for Makeba, you have three options:

1) Post a question in the comments section below,

2) Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,

3) Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

Makeba also welcomes questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.

In this week’s column, Makeba Lavan describes her childhood being raised by her godparents. While she says she loved them dearly, she said they often upset her when she was growing up by speaking poorly in front of her about her incarcerated mother. Still, her godparents provided the kind of stability that most children of incarcerated parents severely lacked.

“I feel like I was very blessed to have them,” says Makeba. “A lot of kids, when their parents are incarcerated or are just not there for other issues such as drug issues, a lot of times they don’t have people to look after them.”

In this video column, Makeba also talks about the kind of sense of responsibility young men and woman should have before they consider becoming parents.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Did someone other than family raise you while a parent was incarcerated? What was your experience in that situation?

[Use the comments feature below or call 646-867-1891 to leave an audio message.]

If you are a child of someone who is incarcerated and you have a question for Makeba, you have three options:

1) Post a question in the comments section below,

2) Send an email to questions@livesinfocus.org,

3) Call (646) 867-1891 to leave a message.

Makeba also welcomes questions from others who might simply be interested in knowing more about how the life of children is affected when a parent is incarcerated.