Ways Military Parents Can Help Children Ease Deployment Separation

When you are a member of the military, you often have to leave your family behind while you are deployed overseas. While these separations are difficult for everyone in the family, these deployments are especially hard on children. Here are a few helpful ways that you can ease the anxiety of separation for your kids.

1. Read Your Bedtime Stories - Bedtime will be a favorite part of your child's day during deployment, especially when the deployed parent is there to say goodnight. Before heading overseas, the military member can create a video of themselves reading their children's favorite books out loud and giving a special goodnight message after each one. This way, every night before bed your kids can read along with you and see mom or dad say a special message just for them.

2. Just Because Gifts - Children love to get mail. Parents can hit the dollar store before deploying and buy lots of small items that can easily fit in an envelope. Coloring books, stickers, fancy post-it notes, lip gloss and candy are all ideal items. You won't have much storage space on most ships or overseas barracks, but these items do not take up much room and can be shipped back home with regular letter mail. Your kids will light up when they get a special package just for them.

3. Take Pictures - Many ships and overseas bases now have internet access. Don't forget to pack a digital camera with an SD memory card so that you can send home pictures to your children. When they can see where their mom or dad is in the world and what kind of things they are doing, they will feel close to the absent parent.

4. Don't Forget Special Events - Certain times during your deployment will be more difficult than others for your kids. If you are not around for band concerts, birthdays, picture day, and soccer banquets, your kids will miss you even more. Get your calendar organized so that you have cards, pre-paid flower orders and even pizza delivery set up in advance for these special events. Taking the time to "be there" without actually being there will mean the world to your kids.

5. Countdown Chain - Children, especially younger children, have a difficult time understanding the abstract idea of time. By creating a countdown chain, your children will get a visual display of when mom or dad will be home. This is very easy to create by just cutting strips of construction paper and stapling them together creating a daisy chain. Every day that passes your children can take off one link. That means one day closer to being together again.

Deployments are never easy for anyone in the family. However, if you follow these ideas then your children will have an easier time making it through the tough deployment. In no time at all, you will be reunited again.