Editor`s Note: In order to offer you as many resources as possible, The Guidance Channel does not list the sites highlighted in our feature article or interview in our Top Ten Websites - it goes without saying that we feel they belong here! Please be sure to check out those columns for additional websites offering exceptional resources. Active Duty: Helping Military Families Cope This article, originally appearing in the December 2001 issue of Welcome Home, presents various ways that people throughout the community can offer support to families with deployed servicemen and women. You`ll find ideas on how to help out military kids through mentoring, driving them to sports practice, and simply enabling them to keep up their usual routines during these unsettling times. There are also suggestions on how to make the deployment easier for spouses as well, such as dropping in for visits, preparing meals and buying gift certificates for fun outings or even landscaping services to lighten the load at home. Readers will learn that everyone can help military families get through such challenging times.
Deployment Handbook: Children`s Issues This guide has been prepared in order to help family members, parents and significant others become better prepared for the separations required by military soldiers. Under the Children`s Issues section, you`ll find advice on what can be done about relieving the stress of the family during the pre-separation period. There are tips on how to talk to children about the deployment before it happens, building an emotional bond, making plans for communicating, and visiting with teachers to talk about the upcoming separation so that they may be in a better position to be sensitive and encouraging. Signs of separation anxiety are described and suggestions are offered on how parents, educators and concerned adults should respond. This is a valuable resource for all families coping with deployment, as well as for those who wish to better understand the issues these families face.
Deployment Issues Developed by the American School Counselor Association, this webpage pulls together some resources about how to help kids deal with the deployment of a loved one. A review of common ways children feel when separated from their parents is followed by tips for school personnel on how to answer students` questions, respond to the media, and collaborate with other school staff to support students, staff and families. There is also a list of tips schools can share with parents on how they can help their children during deployment.
DODDS Prepares For Varying Reactions From Pupils Dealing With Deployments Stars and Stripes featured this article that examines how students and school staff at Department of Defense Schools abroad were reacting to impending deployments for Iraq. Educators share their strategies for addressing students` growing prejudice towards Muslims, organizing crisis management teams to respond to casualties, and offering students reassurance. Teachers, school counselors, and administrators can learn from these DOD schools so that they may become more supportive of students whose parents are deployed.
Educator`s Guide to The Military Child During Deployment This booklet is intended to help educators build coping skills in their students during and after a military deployment. Specific and practical guidelines for administrators, counselors, teachers, and other school employees are presented in order to identify age-related reactions and focus on appropriate intervention strategies. The booklet also covers important issues such as how deployments affect all students, recognizing when mental health referrals may be necessary, and the need for teachers to maintain objectivity regardless of their personal political beliefs. All schools should use this resource as a blueprint when developing their plans for supporting military children during deployments.
The Emotional Cycle of Deployment: A Military Family Perspective This paper, written by military psychiatrists, examines the emotional cycle of deployment experienced by family members at home. The five distinct stages identified include pre-deployment, deployment, sustainment, re-deployment and post-deployment. Negative behaviors and moods of children during various ages are described along with specific remedies for them. Parents and mental health professionals will benefit from reviewing this website developed by the U.S. Army of the Surgeon General, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine, the Army National Guard, and the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve.
How To Prepare Our Children And Stay Involved In Their Education During Deployment The Military Child Education Coalition developed this booklet to offer advice on how parents can remain actively involved in their children`s education throughout the various stages of deployment. Parents will find ideas such as getting their children`s contact information before leaving and using email to help with homework. The booklet also includes ideas for teachers to help support involvement, such as creating a special webpage for deployed parents featuring pictures of school events and homework assignments.
Military Student.org The Department of Defense and LIFELines Partner Organizations developed this comprehensive website to enhance the educational and social well-being of all military children by increasing the understanding and awareness of how to meet their unique needs. There are sections specifically designed for kids and teens that offer age-appropriate information and advice on dealing with deployment. The Teacher`s section addresses the social, emotional, and educational issues of deployment, and reviews promising practices associated with military children and deployment. Visitors will also find guidance for parents and military leaders, as well as links to deployment-related sites for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, and Reserves.
U.S. Military Deployment: When A Family Member Leaves This collection of articles and links focusing on deployment was developed by Operation Homefront -- a program based out of Illinois that was initiated to assist members of the Armed Forces called to active duty. In this section designed for family members, you`ll find information on typical emotional reactions to deployment, changes in the family structure, and unique concerns for reservists, as well as advice on managing stress, maintaining communication between all family members, and finding support. In addition to links to other websites offering guidance for families coping with deployment, there are also activity books you can easily download that are designed to help kids during their parents` deployment.
Working With Military Children: A Primer For School Personnel This booklet is designed to educate, support and affirm the efforts of all school personnel working to support children of deployed military service members. It focuses on four major aspects of military lifestyle: separations or deployments, homecomings, relocation, and crises. In addition to detailed information on each topic, there are also activity ideas that teachers and counselors can use with individuals or groups of elementary school-age children. As the booklet was designed by the Virginia Joint Military Family Services Board, it offers enormous insight into the issues facing military families and expert advice for schools on how they can play a crucial role in the lives of military children. (Please note that this document make take a while to load -- but it`s worth the wait!)