Operation Homelife Ways to Keep Kids Connected Through Deployment by Jennifer Derg
“When Daddy gets back, does he still live in our house?” The day my daughter asked me this, at age 6, I was stunned. She had been through five deployments at this time, so why was she confused now? I quickly learned that no deployment is the same, and your kids are not the same in each one. Through six deployments, two children, eleven years, and countless mistakes, I have found some ways to keep a strong family connection through the separations. Of all the tips I’ve ever gotten, here are ten that worked amazingly for us. Deployment Wall A deployment wall displays items like a map showing where your loved one is, clocks showing their time, and some fun countdown items. I believe this helps them feel informed and more in control of that information, in a time they don’t feel very in control of much. Ice Cream Party Countdown Ice cream makes all things better. First, we laminate a big construction paper ice cream cone and tack it on the deployment wall. Then, we have an ice cream party the day before shipping out. Every month we have an ice cream party and we add a colorful scoop to the laminate cone on our wall. It’s a delicious and fun celebration every month as we get closer to our homecoming, as well as an easy visual for little ones to count. High Five Hand A deployment counselor did a high five hand for us, and my kids absolutely loved it. Your deploying loved one traces their hand and writes a message in it, then we cut it out, laminate and hang it up where the kids could high-five it on their way out the door each day. The kids absolutely loved high-fiving Daddy everyday and would sometimes run back into the house if they forgot! LEGO Sets Have you ever put a seven-year-old on the phone with someone and watched them try to have a conversation? They suddenly have nothing to say, they can’t think of anything they’ve been doing and lose all ability to speak in multi-word sentences. One of the very best tips I was given was to have them do an activity together instead, and it was life-changing for us! By buying two of the same LEGO sets and sending one to my husband abroad, they could sit on FaceTime for hours helping each other build their sets. It feels more like spending time together, instead of just talking when you can share an activity. Another idea could be reading the same books to discuss together.
P36 | Coronado Magazine
