Many parents have found themselves in the docks for a variety of crimes.
Crimes committed by mums and dads range from Class A drug dealing, dangerous driving and despicable frauds, to shocking attacks such as a dad who shattered a woman's jaw and broke his friend's finger.
But these parents were spared jail at least in part because of their responsibilities as mums and dads.
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Sentencing guidelines, set out by the Sentencing Council, are followed by judges and they also have to take into account Court of Appeal rulings when making a decision whether to suspend a custodial sentence or send a defendant straight to jail.
Factors indicating it may be right to suspend a jail sentence include: "Immediate custody will result in significant harmful impact upon others."
The guidelines state being the "sole or primary carer for dependent relatives" is a fact which may "result in an upward or downward adjustment from the sentence arrived at so far".
This means when the decision is finely balanced, having children who are dependent on you can be the difference between ending up behind bars or walking free from court.
Here are a number of cases where criminals with children were spared jail.
Liam Wharton
A drunk man who knocked a woman out cold and broke her nephew’s finger by biting it walked free after she pleaded with a judge not to deprive his kids of their dad.
Liam Wharton launched a sickening attack on Debbie Peers after she tried to defuse an argument at a party on September 8, 2019.
The 31-year-old also bit Ryan Peers, his long term friend and Mrs Peers’ nephew, so hard on the finger, he broke it.
Wharton had been at a party at the home of Ryan Peers' parents on Horseshoe Drive in Fazakerley when he became involved in a drunken argument with another guest.
He was ejected and escorted to his nearby home by Mr Peers but returned a short time later and began acting aggressively in a confrontation which then spilled outside.
Ken Grant, prosecuting, said Debbie Peers, who did not know Wharton, followed him out the house and had attempted to calm him but he attacked her.
Mr Grant said: “He punched Debbie Peers with force in the face, knocking her out.
“She then fell to the floor.
“It must have been a powerful punch because of the injuries she suffered, with her jaw being broken in numerous places.”
After this, Wharton became involved in a scuffle with Ryan Peers’ father Brian and, when Ryan Peers came to assist, Wharton bit him on the finger with enough force to fracture it.
Mr Grant said Ryan Peers’ injury required only limited treatment but Debbie Peers later required surgery involving the insertion of multiple plates and bolts into her jaw.
She has since spent more than £2,000 on dental fees and was told further treatment to remedy her dental problems would cost more than £5,000.
In a statement to the court, Ms Peers said she was self conscious about her appearance and said she still had problems with a loss of sensation in part of her mouth, as well as dizziness.
Christopher Stables, defending, said Wharton expressed deep remorse for his actions and read out a letter in which he said he could not believe what he had put the Peers family through and said he was ashamed by his behaviour.
Wharton had initially denied wounding Ms Peers and assaulting Mr Peers but pleaded guilty on the day his trial was due to start.
Prior to sentencing Debbie Peers, who was in court, asked Judge Clement Goldstone QC to spare Wharton from jail.
In an emotional appeal to the court, she said his children would bear the brunt of any prison sentence.
Wharton, of Alt Side Court, Liverpool, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Judge Goldstone ordered him to pay £10,000 in compensation to Ms Peers and £1,500 to Ryan Peers.
He will also be required to undertake 30 rehabilitation days and pay the victim surcharge as well as prosecution costs.
Jake Lilliot
A young dad downloaded child sex abuse pictures while his girlfriend was pregnant with their baby.
Jake Lilliot was caught with 11 indecent images, including three sickening files involving child rape.
The 26-year-old later said he had intended to delete the images and report them to the authorities.
A judge rejected these claims as Lilliot sobbed, but spared him jail in part because of his parental responsibility.
Police raided Lilliot's home in Treetops Drive, Bidston, Wirral, on September 1, 2020.
Lilliot, who admitted one count of possessing and three counts of downloading indecent images of children, defended himself in court and said: "I'm not a danger to any children at all."
Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said a pre-sentence report showed Lilliot recognised the "damage" he had caused and that he expressed remorse.
He said: "You did today again try to justify that you were going to report these images to the relevant authority.
"I have my distinct doubts about that to be frank, but in any event, you pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to these offences and can expect full credit.
"You're also the father of a young child, who suffers with a very difficult condition, which obviously requires a great deal of attention, and you're jointly fulfilling your parental role in relation to that child."
He handed him eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement in November last year.
The judge also told him to attend a Horizon sex offenders treatment programme, involving 27 sessions.
Mum and dad whose children lived in house of horrors
A mum and dad who let their children live in "appalling" filth walked free from court.
Six girls were forced to survive in a Wirral home surrounded by dog dirt, mouse droppings and used nappies.
Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said it looked as if "the filthy contents of a skip have been emptied in every room".
But he said jailing them would have a harmful impact on two children over 16 now back in the mum's care and the other victims may not be returned to them "for a very long time, if ever".
The parents, who admitted child cruelty, cannot be named because of reporting restrictions protecting the identity of their innocent victims.
The children lived on takeaways, snack bars, school breakfast clubs and meals cooked in "squalor".
Judge Menary said: "Many members of the public, on reading about this case, would think you both should go immediately to prison for what you have done, or rather what you have failed to do, and that's failed fundamentally to protect and nurture your children."
However, he said jailing them would have a significant harmful impact on some of their children and they had worked hard to improve the situation.
Judge Menary gave them each two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, with 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.
He told the dad to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, and the mum 80 hours of unpaid work and a three-month home curfew, from 8pm to 6am daily.
Rebecca Pomphrett
An ecstasy dealing mum-to-be avoided prison.
Rebecca Pomphrett was caught peddling MDMA and cannabis on the steps of St George's Hall in Liverpool city centre on October 2 last year.
The 20-year-old, of Emerson Street, Toxteth, admitted possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply, before she later claimed she was selling the drugs to pay household bills.
Ken Heckle, defending, was now in a relationship with a young man and due to give birth in April.
Mr Heckle said he "wasn't putting it forward as a get out of jail free card", but with pregnancy difficulties Pomphrett wouldn't go from HMP Styal back to Liverpool Women's Hospital, but would be transferred to Manchester, adding: "Continuity of care is perhaps all important at this stage."
Judge David Swinnerton told Pomphrett she was to some extent vulnerable, "very foolish" and performed "a limited function under direction" through "naivety, immaturity or exploitation".
He found it was a "lesser role" case, there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and jail would have a significant harmful impact on others.
Judge Swinnerton said: "The others are your unborn child, not your partner. That would be terribly sad if he couldn't be present at the birth, but it's not the impact on him, it's the impact on your unborn child.
"I don't think being pregnant is a 'get out of jail free' card - of course it isn't - but it's going to be a lot of hard work for you .
"I do take account of the fact you're pregnant, not as a 'get out of jail free' card, but account of the impact on others, and you."
He handed her two years in prison, suspended for two years, with a 10-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 80 hours of unpaid work.
Charline Barrett
Charline Barrett avoided jail after deliberately driving her car at a former friend and her pregnant sister.
The single mum drove her car at Rebecca McGee and her sister Jade, just after they had dropped their children off at school in Kirkby.
The incident, on September 14, was the culmination of a long simmering tension between the women and saw Barrett threaten she "wouldn't leave until youse are bonneted".
Barrett, who has a past conviction for battery, drove her car and hit Rebecca at low speed, who fell against the bonnet, and narrowly missed Jade, who was 26 weeks pregnant.
But Barrett, of Tilston Road, Kirkby, was spared prison after her son's headteacher praised the strong values she had instilled in him and warned he would bear the brunt of the damage if she were jailed.
Mair Hindmarsh, headteacher at Kirkby Church of England Primary School said Ms Barrett's son was a delightful and intelligent boy thanks to the parenting of his mother, who she described as "hot headed".
She said: "They have a very close relationship. She has taught him very strong values, something which I realise may sound ironic given where we are today."
Ms Hindmarsh said a prison term would deprive Ms Barrett's son of his mother during the crucial transition between primary and secondary school and could have potentially "catastrophic" consequences on his wellbeing.
Desmond Lennon, defending, asked the judge to give Barrett a chance, stating: "She is a good mother, she is a hard worker, she has a full time job. She would lose that were she to go into custody."
Recorder Simon Parrington said: "I am mindful in particular of the effect of a custodial sentence on your son. I have no doubt that you fully deserve to go to prison today but I believe that you can be managed in the community."
Barrett admitted assault, dangerous driving and malicious communication offences. She was given 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements, unpaid work and a compensation order.
Holly Woods
A mobile hairdresser caught drug driving told police she "couldn't be a****" to take roadside tests.
Holly Woods, 33, was previously spared jail after ferrying £2,600 of cocaine and heroin to Cumbria.
The single mum said she hid drugs in a bag on her little girl's car seat to pay off debts owed to a dealer.
A judge agreed to suspend her jail sentence in September 2020 "only because" of her five-year-old child.
A second judge told her she belonged in prison, but again spared her jail after she skipped unpaid work.
But a third judge gave her a final opportunity - because jailing her might mean her child going into care.
Police spotted her "erratic" driving in a white Audi Q3 in Wavertree, at around 10.15pm, on April 26 this year, when she was nearly twice the legal limit for "cocaine breakdown product" benzoylecgonine.
Woods, of Grange Lane, Gateacre, admitted drug driving and being in breach of her suspended sentence, imposed on November 6, 2020.
John Weate, defending, said she was the "sole carer" for her now six-year-old daughter.
He said: "She is very concerned the loss of her liberty will result in the local authority having to step in to at least make some arrangements."
The judge, Recorder Corbett-Jones, said: "What weighs most heavily on me is the impact it would have, of me sending you into custody, on your six-year-old child, who is expecting her mother to come home this evening.
"There is, on the basis of everything I have read, a real risk that she would find herself placed within the care of the local authority."
He added: "For that reason, I've decided I'm not going to do that. You must understand there will not be another opportunity."
Woods sobbed as he handed her a 12-month community order, with a four-month home curfew, between 8pm and 6am daily, and a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
Amanda Clark
A carer betrayed an 87-year-old woman by stealing from her for online shopping sprees and gambling.
Amanda Clark's "vulnerable victim", who the ECHO chose not to name, considered her "a genuine friend - her favourite carer".
She let the mum-of-two use her bank card to do her shopping during the coronavirus pandemic because she trusted her "completely".
But the 33-year-old, of Yorkaster Road, Allerton, instead blew nearly £7,000 of the woman's savings on herself last year.
Clark, who had one previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol, admitted fraud by abuse of position.
Jo Maxwell, defending, said Clark was the primary carer for her children, aged two and five, and could lose her house if jailed.
Judge Anil Murray told Clark: "You're not thought to be a risk to the public. You have no previous history of poor compliance with court orders, you are thought to be a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, there is strong personal mitigation with your mental health issues, and immediate custody would result in a significant harmful impact on your two children."
He gave her 10 months in jail, suspended for two years, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, and made a £1,200 compensation order.
