Abstract
The deployment of a military parent is undoubtedly a difficult time for children. This is especially true if the military child is being cared for by a relative, or kinship parent such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or older sibling. The child may have to experience a kind of personal deployment from their own home. To help children cope with these changes, it is important for the kinship parent to effectively communicate with the child about the deployment and the deployed parent. This will safeguard against emotional and behavioral problems and can lead to improvements in the child’s overall sense of well-being. This 3-page fact sheet was written by Elizabeth Thomas and Larry F. Forthun and published by the UF Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, March 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1367
Accessibility Summary:
In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.
References
Graham, B. 2007. U.S. Army deployment support handbook: Children and youth. Ithaca, NY: Wells Communication. Retrieved June 1, 2012 from: http://www.myarmyonesource.com/cmsresources/Army%20OneSource/Media/PDFs/Family%20Programs%20and%20Services/Family%20Programs/Deployment%20Readiness/Operation%20READY/DEPLOY_SPPT_HBOOK_CHILD_YOUTH.pdf
Levin, D.E., C. I. Daynard, and B. A. Dexter. 2008. The "SOFAR" guide for helping children and youth cope with the deployment and return of a parent in the national guard and other reserve components. Retrieved June 1, 2012 from: http://www.sofarusa.org/downloads/sofar_children_pamphlet.pdf
Perkins, D.F., and K. Fogarty. 2005. Active listening: A communication tool. Gainesville, FL: Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication number: FCS2151. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/he361
U.S. Department of Defense. (n.d.). Parent's guide to the military child during deployment and reunion. Retrieved June 1, 2012 from: http://www.aap.org/sections/uniformedservices/deployment/pdfs/parent_guide_deployment.pdf
Articles in the EDIS journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, and are available to share and distribute for any noncommercial purpose with attribution. This license does not apply to the use of individual images in the article.
