Supporting military families during times of stress can be difficult and worrisome. It is easy to forget that you affect families, and at the same time, families affect you. Remembering and identifying your own thoughts and emotions about things can help you to be more purposeful and effective in your connections with families. Read through, think about and respond to the questions below:

1. What are your thoughts and feelings about military life? What is your view on war? Deployment? How might these thoughts and feelings affect your relationships with military families?
2. Have you had personal experiences with trauma, grief, or loss? How might your experiences shape your understanding and expectations of families?
3. How do you think school-age children express and respond to sadness, loss, and grief?
4. Do you think that experiences of deployment are expected for military families? How do you believe experiences of trauma and loss affect school-age children? Or, are all children and families resilient and bounce back from life’s experiences?