WHEN former prison volunteer Lynn Yue taught a toddler to sing the nursery rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, the boy could only mumble the lyrics though he could carry the tune.
'I'll teach them shades and colours, but when they try to pronounce the words, the sounds come out very slurred,'' said the 33-year-old, who used flash cards and picture cards to stimulate the young minds.
Such experiences with prison babies have dismayed volunteers like her, who fear that life behind bars can stunt the children's long-term mental and social development.
'I want them to catch up and grow up to be useful people,' she said.
Once, Ms Yue brought three babies out to the prison's visit playroom, which was stocked with books and toys and had a view of the sun and grass.
Two of them screamed and cried for 30 minutes, all the while clinging on to their 'aunties', the prison officers.
'They couldn't verbalise. They just wanted to go back inside because they were very scared,' said the mother of two.
Because the babies have to leave prison by age three even if their mothers are still inside, officers and volunteers join hands to break them into the real world 'bit by bit', she added. They take them for bus rides, for example.
But there is only so much they can do, said Ms Yue. 'It's one hour out of 24 hours for seven days in the week.'
The one good thing that the babies gain is that they are with their mothers, she said. 'The rest is negative.'
But child psychiatrist Brian Yeo disagreed. 'It's always the mother's care to her child that is the most important.'
The mother-and-child bond provides a 'secure base' that helps the baby's self-esteem and development.
'The mother is the most consistent caregiver, and maternal love transcends most things,' he added.
But even Dr Yeo admits that beyond three years, the child needs to socialise in a wider setting and learn skills through activities like preschool.
'The key is the mother should come out of prison soon after the three years. If she's serving 20 years and cannot look after the child subsequently, she might want to spare the child the trauma of separation. But it should be the mother's choice,' he said.
Research on the development of children of imprisoned mothers is dated, limited and inconclusive.
A British study in the late 1980s found no evidence of severe effects on babies kept in prison or separated from their imprisoned mothers. What it did find was a gradual decline in movement and cognitive skills for babies growing up in prison, though the development improved after the mothers' release.
Ms Yue recalled a frightened girl she brought out for a bus ride once. 'We wanted to give her a sweet but we were afraid she would choke. She doesn't even know how to suck on a sweet.'
Both mother and daughter have since been released. The girl is about six now.
Today, she is in a kindergarten like other children her age and 'is a happy child' - but for one peculiarity.
Ms Yue said: 'She'll respond with 'Yes Ma'am, yes Ma'am' when adults talk to her.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sep 1, 2008.
