Like all families, military families experience special challenges and triumphs. As a family child care provider, you must be familiar with common situations that military families face. Some of these challenges are:

• Frequent moves
• Current events and media coverage
• 压力

Frequent Moves

Military life is full of change and often entails frequent moves for a family. Change can be difficult, especially for children who may look at moving as being taken away from their school, friends, and activities. It is important that you make families that have just been through a move feel welcome at your program. Fortunately, most children of military families will understand what it is like to be “the new kid” and will work with you to create a welcoming and fun environment for your new arrivals. The National Military Family Association recommends these tips for working with families who have recently moved into your program:

• Provide a welcome packet to all new families; include information on local resources and the community.包括有关当地公园，娱乐中心，运动俱乐部和该地区的热门活动的信息。
• Create a buddy system.Pair a child that has recently moved into your program with a child their own age that knows the program well. This will help the new child feel welcome and comfortable in their new environment.
• Create a travelers club.Many of the children from military families in your program have traveled throughout the country and perhaps even the world. Celebrate this by dedicating time to let children share stories about where they have lived. This will help your children feel that they belong and that their way of living is not out of the ordinary.

由于家庭举措而离开课程的儿童也需要支持。离开您的计划的儿童可能会扰乱远离您的程序，他们的学校，他们的朋友，他们的惯例以及家庭的舒适感。您可以通过为他们创造礼物来帮助他们去新家。在您的程序中与其他孩子一起工作，为每个孩子留下时为每个孩子创建一个记忆簿。在您的计划中包含照片和故事。如果时间允许，他们的朋友们写一张音符或为这本书画一张照片。您和您程序的其他成员也可以编写一个孩子的记录或记忆。当孩子到达他们的新家时，这将是安慰的，它会给他们一些东西可以帮助他们在家庭育儿家中记住他们的时间。亚慱彩票APP

Understanding Current Events

Older children have access to news and current events through media outlets such as television, radio, internet, and newspapers. Having information at their fingertips can cause concern for some children with family members in the military. Hearing or reading information about wartime issues, politics, terrorist threats, or unsafe conditions across the world can be stressful for children. You can help children process this information by only sharing factual information. Avoid sharing opinions and speculation. Inform families if you hear children discussing a specific topic or current event. This way, families can prepare to have a conversation at home if needed.

压力

部署，频繁的动作，变化和军事生活的其他因素将对军事儿童及其家庭成员施加压力。这些压力源中的一些可能会导致儿童的社会，情感和行为健康的问题，在学校或计划中。The presidential initiative “Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment,” points to a 2010 study that found “an 11 percent increase in outpatient visits for behavioral health issues among a group of 3- to 8-year-old children of military parents and an increase of 18 percent in behavioral disorders and 19 percent in stress disorders when a parent was deployed.” There are programs in place throughout the military that are designed to support and assist families going through a deployment. Check with your trainer, coach, or family child care administrator for information about these programs.

下表将提供儿童中发现的常见应力指标的一些例子。

Common Stress Indicators

Social	孩子对他或她曾经享受的活动似乎不太感兴趣 Child has difficulty joining a group, keeping a friend, dealing with others, or responding to failure or success
Emotional	Signs of depression 孩子似乎毫无疑问 Child seems withdrawn or quiet 孩子变得更加依赖，并表现出对年轻儿童行为的回归迹象
Behavioral	General disrespect or resisting authority Outbursts Temper tantrums 积极的行为 Lying, stealing, cheating
其他	Changes in school work or grades 孩子似乎无法焦点 Drastic changes in appearance 饮食习惯的急剧变化

Each child will react to stress differently, so while the list above is a good place to start, it will not cover every behavior you may see. As you make daily observations of children, you should make note of any behaviors that are unusual or out of character. If you notice the behaviors becoming a pattern, you should talk to your supervisor about having a discussion with the family.

Coping Strategies

Different children will cope with stress in different ways. A few of the most common coping strategies are:

• Physical activity
• 读
• Listening to or playing music
• Writing, drawing, or journaling
• Talking it out with others

How to Help

除了促进应对策略,你should create opportunities for children to express their emotions and listen to others. Knowing that there are other children in a similar situation or that at least one other person can understand what they are going through can have a huge impact on how a child deals with stress. Always listen to children when they are expressing themselves or confiding in you. Don’t discount their feelings or emotions. Encourage expression and listen without judgment. Sometimes, children can feel that they have no choice in a situation. When a parent or loved one is deployed, nothing they do will ensure their safe return. This can cause a child to feel helpless and dependent. Try to offset this feeling by allowing the child to make decisions and take responsibility when they can. Helping others is another great way to alleviate stress. When children see their actions helping those in need, they feel useful and responsible.