Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs Army families undertake. Even under normal circumstances, raising healthy, well-adjusted children who know that they are loved is a challenge; but for parents who are deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism or other contingencies around the world, the challenge of parenting can be exceptionally difficult.
Several deployment-related resources have been created to help relieve the stress families are experiencing during these turbulent times. These resources, which are available in the USAREUR “Blue Box,” include deployment and reintegration guides for parents and coloring books for children.
To help families when a parent returns from deployment, a new guide entitled Age-Appropriate Reintegration Activities has been added to the USAREUR Blue Box. This quick-reference guide, which is available at www.per.hqusareur.army.mil/bluebox/docs/ageappropriate.pdf, was created to help parents and children cope with the challenges associated with reintegration and reunion. The guide, which is formatted as a tri-fold, does the following:
• Suggests different types of reintegration activities appropriate to children
• Provides information on how children may behave during the stressful period of reintegration and reunion with a parent who has been deployed
• Lists family-oriented Web sites
I strongly encourage parents to use this new tri-fold as well as other resources available in our military communities and online that are designed to help with reintegration. These resources can ease the transition and help families adjust quickly when a parent comes home after being deployed.
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Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs Army families undertake. Even under normal circumstances, raising healthy, well-adjusted children who know that they are loved is a challenge; but for parents who are deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism or other contingencies around the world, the challenge of parenting can be exceptionally difficult.
Several deployment-related resources have been created to help relieve the stress families are experiencing during these turbulent times. These resources, which are available in the USAREUR “Blue Box,” include deployment and reintegration guides for parents and coloring books for children.
To help families when a parent returns from deployment, a new guide entitled Age-Appropriate Reintegration Activities has been added to the USAREUR Blue Box. This quick-reference guide, which is available at www.per.hqusareur.army.mil/bluebox/docs/ageappropriate.pdf, was created to help parents and children cope with the challenges associated with reintegration and reunion. The guide, which is formatted as a tri-fold, does the following:
• Suggests different types of reintegration activities appropriate to children
• Provides information on how children may behave during the stressful period of reintegration and reunion with a parent who has been deployed
• Lists family-oriented Web sites
I strongly encourage parents to use this new tri-fold as well as other resources available in our military communities and online that are designed to help with reintegration. These resources can ease the transition and help families adjust quickly when a parent comes home after being deployed.