Working With Military Spouse, Family And Children: Coping Strategies Essay Sample

Introduction

When one of the family members is separated due to important obligations, the children are the ones who ask the most. However, when the parent’s job is naturally dangerous, such as in military, it is difficult for the other parent to answer their kid’s question without the children being afraid or nervous about their mother or father deployed in a military operation (Vu, 2003). As such, it is important to have a coping strategy which will ease, if not remove, the worry being felt by their children.

Body

According to a recent study, military deployment of a family member bears physical and mental stress for the whole family, especially to children, who have no other choice but to adapt to the sudden change in the family setting (Gewirtz et al., 2011). Fortunately, there are many ways to cope with this problem, and one of them is to encourage children to stay in touch with their loved ones from a distance. One way is to teach them to be creative in writing. Writing letters will enable the children to express all their feelings, but it will also assure them that the message will be received by the parent deployed. Along with writing, the children can also be as creative as they wanted. They can draw, or make artistic and colorful letters in which their portrait or a picture of their family might be included. In this way, the children will feel delighted that they are able to communicate even if they are far from their loved ones. Also, they will feel more sentimental as they have done the letter with all effort and sincerity, and knowing that this will reach their loved one.

Conclusion

Keeping in touch does not need to be complicated for the children. A simple but heartfelt message is enough for them, as both the children and parents will most likely treasure this present more, because letters have more personal and emotional touch for them.

References

Gewirtz, A., Erbes, C., Polusny, M., Forgatch, M., & DeGarmo, D. (2011). Helping military families through the deployment process: Strategies to support parenting. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 42(1), 56-62.
Vu, P. (2003). Military Families: Helping Kids Cope. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from http://www.parents.com/parenting/dynamics/military/military-families-helping-kids- cope/