Support Worker Resources

1. Activities that can be done and sent to the parent via the family or social worker e.g. email attachment 

2. Activities that could be given to the other parent to post . Families are normally allowed to post one parcel a week for free during deployment (if their absence is considered a deployment).

• Talk with parents about the narrative they use at home to prepare the child e.g. ‘Daddy’s going on a plane on deployment. He is coming back on a plane at Easter time’. Write the narrative down, to reduce variations and possibilities of confusion. There is an article in this module to give you some examples of these family narratives.
  

• Support that narrative by giving opportunities for the child to finish each sentence when you start the narrative. Keeping it as close as possible to the parent's narrative is important.

• Prepare a pre-departure sheet with the parent, if they are agreeable. Ask the parents to share what happens that is different in the family when a parent works away e.g. jobs, sleeping arrangements, bins, gardening, pets so that you can chat with the child about these changes.

• A stuffed toy could be given to parents before they depart so they can take photos of the mascot when they are out and about. (This is one of the characters from the eBook Now that I am big: Anthony's story in the resources section. A pattern for how to make this toy is included in the Children's Resources).
  

• Ask the child to draw or paint pictures of how their parent is going away, such as a plane at the airport, then scribe the family narrative underneath and hang it up on the wall, and give a coloured copy to parents to assist them in preparing.

• Engage with the eBook Now that I am big: Anthony’s story which shows Anthony’s experiences when his father deploys.  Discuss various parts of the deployment cycle as they are mentioned in the book, for example, before deployment, during deployment, the reunion, and post-deployment (reintegration). 

For children over 8 years

Older children will understand what is happening when their parent works away. That said, they may still struggle with the emotional aspects of this arrangement. Providing opportunities for older children to express their concerns about their parent going away can assist them in processing these feelings. It can help validate them and give them a voice.

Ask them to process these by creating a diagram depicting all their emotions when their parent goes away. The diagram could be digital or hand-drawn. They can label the emotions and add ways they might be able to find support to deal with each emotion.