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.Over
the past decade more than 2 million children have experienced the
deployment of at least one parent, and thousands are coping with a
military parent’s death or traumatic injury. Studies indicate stress
and worry are common among children of a deployed parent with one in
four children experiencing symptoms of depression and over half
reporting trouble sleeping. This applies as well to children
who may have other important family members deployed, such as
sisters or brothers.
Children and family members
may feel numb, sad, and worried while adjusting to
the separation of deployment. Children may feel
helpless and filled with dread as they witness a
parent’s bouts of crying and profound sadness over
their deployed partner or child.
While family members may
feel excitement over the return of their deployed
relative, they face the challenge of getting to
know each other once again. This is often the case
the longer the person has been away and the
experiences faced while deployed. For military
families who move often, the lack of attachment to
school, friends, and community can cause a sense
of isolation.
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Tips for helping
children and teenagers in military families: |
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●Tell them it is ok to ask for help |
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●Listen to their concerns and discuss their
worries |
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●Develop a support network |
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●School-based support groups can help
military children fit in and student
mentors can help navigate a new school
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●Encourage and support involvement in sports. Being a member of a
team is a way to make new
friends quickly and be a part of fun
activities that can reduce stress
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●Encourage
children and teens to participate in special
activities or rites of
passage |
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●Work
with the school to establish time for phone
calls if the time zone
difference is interfering with the
opportunity to talk with a deployed parent |
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●Teens
may need time with peers while adjusting to
deployment or as the
family adjusts to the service member’s
return |
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●Teach
children and teens how to deal with
transition and loss |
●Seek
professional help for your child or teenager if
their level of distress is
interfering with healthy functioning
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