Military children show resilience from recurring deployments, other challenges
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Today's military children are dealing with unprecedented multiple deployments of their parents, says a Purdue University military family expert.
"The good news is that research shows that these children often exhibit impressive resilience to stressors such as deployments and frequent moves," said Shelley MacDermid, professor of family studies and director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue. "We attribute this to positive and stable relationships with adults."
Nearly 1.9 million children have a parent in the military, and since September 2001, multiple deployments for many of the 1.8 million U.S. service members have been common. Many of these children have been separated from their parents for most of their lives.
"Historically, a large number of service members have not been redeployed as they have been to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan," MacDermid says. "As these conflicts continue, the separations can place stress on a family and even affect a child's behavior.
"That's why it is so important that the needs of children are addressed during these difficult times."
A resource to help parents is the "Sesame Workshop Talk, Listen, Connect" materials, which are available at https://www.sesameworkshop.org/initiatives/emotion/tlc
The Military Family Research Institute partners with Sesame Workshop, which looked to the institute for assistance with evaluating the effectiveness of program materials. These multimedia educational materials feature Sesame Street characters and actual military families. For example, one video series featuring Elmo shows the character coping while his father is away.
Another challenge that some military children face is adjusting to the return of a parent who has been physically or psychologically injured.
"An injury may mean a child's loved one looks or sounds different, and that can upset a child," MacDermid says. "A child may even be afraid of a parent's new prosthetic limb, and others may be concerned about who is to blame for the injury.
"That's why it is important for parents to communicate openly about such distressing events. When they do, children are more likely to seek the support they need. When children have access to information about their parent's injury, they are less anxious. And another coping strategy is to involve children in the treatment and healing process because children often feel helpless when they are unable to provide comfort."
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9724, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, shelley@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: April is Month of the Military Child.