Family Readiness Corner: Kids' Deployment Experiences Published Nov. 3, 2010 By Ms. Carolann Wunderlin 129th Rescue Wing Family Readiness Program Manager MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. -- When parents are in the military, their children serve too. The National Military Family Association and the RAND Corporation put together Children on the Homefront: the Experience of Children from Military Families, a study examining how children are doing across social, emotional, and academic domains. Data was collected from military children, aged 11 to 17 years and nondeployed caregivers from a computer-assisted telephone interview. The study described the health and well-being of children from military families from their perspectives and assessed the experience of deployment for children and how it varies according to deployment length and military service component. According to the study, the majority of children in military families are healthy and coping well with the stresses and challenges of deployment. For those children and families struggling with long periods of separation, the study offers hope and opportunities for solutions. Helpful resources suggested for families are the National Military Family Associations' Toolkit About Military Teens (available online at http://www.militaryfamily.org/assets/2010-Teen-Toolkit-PDF.pdf) and the Transition & Teens: A Guide for Military Parents newsletter from timetotalk.org (found at http://www.timetotalk.org/military/pdf/ttt_transitions.pdf). Whether you are a member of the general public, a military family, an educator, or health care provider, you can find knowledge and action items at http://www.militaryfamily.org/publications/deployment-family-research/. For more information about the Family Readiness Office and its programs please visit http://www.129rqw.ang.af.mil/resources/familyreadiness.asp. To view current and past versions of the PostIt, please go to http://www.129rqw.ang.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-101103-051.pdf.