December 2, 2009

Prof: Think about military families during the holiday season

"Some military families postpone their Christmas celebration and even leave the tree up for months until their family member returns home for a leave or from deployment," says Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, professor and director of Purdue's Military Family Research Institute. "It's important to remember that these spouses and children are also serving while their loved one is deployed. They may not be in a war zone, but they are living through their family member's experiences, and the long-term separation presents significant challenges for many families."

Possible gifts for children whose parents are away include pillows with a picture of their parent on it or a framed image.

"The pillow is a tangible reminder of the parent that the child can hug and sleep with every night while mom or dad is deployed," MacDermid Wadsworth says. "Any activity, gift or even something as simple as sharing a story that helps keep the parent involved in the child's world is very valuable."

Other ways to help military families include:

* Share photos or make a calendar with pictures of the loved one for the families.

* Offer to watch the children one evening so the parent can do holiday shopping.

* Offer to change the car's oil, shovel snow or any other task that could help families during the busy holiday season.

Additional suggestions are available from the institute, which is a research and outreach organization based at Purdue, at https://www.mfri.purdue.edu/content.asp?tid=6&id=25

"The holidays are an especially important time to help these families bridge the miles between them and their deployed loved one, but also remember that this support is needed year-round," MacDermid Wadsworth says.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, 765-494-6026, shelley@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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