Military Families and Their Children: Unique Challenges and Factors that Help

April is Month of the Military Child, but military life presents challenges year-round to both parents and children. Blue Star Families is an organization with a mission to study and address those challenges, supporting military and veteran families in overcoming the risks they and their children often face.   Dr. Jessica Strong, Senior Director of Applied Research at Blue Star Families, joins Marti & Erin to discuss results of this year’s survey study of more than nine thousand families. This study highlights challenges related to separation of family members, and frequent relocations. It also shows the impact on spousal employment, childcare, financial security, and instability of social networks for both children and adults -- a risk factor at any age. Jessica speaks not only as a researcher, but also as an army spouse, mother of three children, and a professional who left a tenure track professorship when her husband was relocated. If you are part of a military family or if you know someone who is, this podcast is for you.   HOW CAN WE SUPPORT MILITARY FAMILIES, AND ESPECIALLY MILITARY CHILDREN? What did you learn from this discussion about the challenges of military life, both for children and parents? If you are in the military or if you know people who are, what do you think the military could do to reduce these challenges? And how could you reach out to parents or children you know who are in these challenging situations, maybe even from a distance?   WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPPORTING MILITARY FAMILIES? ❉ MOM ENOUGH LIVE: A STORY OF HOPE, HELPING VETERANS FIGHT PAIN & ADDICTION. More than one in 10 veterans struggle with a substance use disorder. So, what factors contribute to this? And how can we better support our veterans? Watch this Mom Enough Live episode to learn more from Dr. Kerry Brockberg, co-author of End Your Covert Mission: A Veterans Guide to Fighting Pain and Addiction, which is published by Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. Learn about why pain and addiction are such important topics for veterans and how military and veteran culture can be both a risk and protective factor. You want want to miss this episode with psychologist, mother and wife to a veteran, Dr. Brockberg.   ❉ HELPING A MILITARY FAMILY CREATE A PLAN FOR STAYING STRONG THROUGH SEPARATIONS. A Mom Enough listener asked for advice on supporting her grandchildren (ages 3 and 7) during their mom’s year-long deployment. Just after their mom gets home, their dad will be deployed for a year, so the children will deal with the absence of one parent while also potentially adjusting to a different parenting style. Read Dr. Marti Erickson's advice!   ❉ WHAT ARE THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACED BY CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHEN A PARENT IS DEPLOYED TO SERVE IN OUR NATION’S CURRENT CONFLICTS? When a mother or father is called up for active military duty, children, the parent left behind, and other loved ones face a complex range of emotions before, during and after deployment. But resources can help adults and children, whatever their ages, handle these emotional challenges and stay strong through separation and reunion. Psychologist Abigail Gewirtz sheds light on this important topic and suggests ways we all can help.