Family priorities often must come second to military orders. When one spouse returns from deployment and begins the homecoming process, the couple may feel as if they are on an emotional rollercoaster. They may experience intense anticipation, anxiety, restlessness, impatience, and excitement. It is also typical to feel resentment, disappointment, frustration, and grief over losses of freedom or independence. It may take the couple several months to find a healthy balance in their relationship again after the deployment. Furthermore, it is common for military couples to deal with Post-…
Welcome home from your military deployment! For the next few months, you may feel as if you are on an emotional rollercoaster, full of both excitement and anxiety. You may also experience feelings of resentment, disappointment, and frustration. Don't worry--this emotional cycle is normal. The most important thing to keep in mind is that getting back into a positive routine with your spouse will take time. Things won't be like they were before the deployment--you both have grown and changed as a result of this challenge--but you can be an even stronger couple.After a deployment, it is common…
Children who grow up in single-parent families are more likely to be poor, have trouble in school, and become teen parents themselves. Additionally, children who are born to a mother who is a teenager, who hasn't finished high school, and who isn't married are nine times more likely to be poor than a child whose mother is even a few years older, is married and has at least finished high school. Thus, strengthening families through both teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) and marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs is an effort to decrease out-of-wedlock childbearing and increase the…
This fact sheet reviews marital statistics for members of the Reserve Component of the U.S. Armed Forces which is comprised of both the National Guard and the Reserves. It discusses the unique challenges facing military couples and then reports that the marriage rates for Reserve and National Guard members are similar to rates for civilians, with 48% currently married; officers are more likely to be married than enlisted members; the proportion of Reserve Component members who are married has gradually decreased since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; females are less likely to be…
Adoption professionals and those in the marriage and relationship education (MRE) field are becoming more aware of the special issues adoptive couples face in their marriages. Practitioners from both disciplines may want to consider ways to bridge these two fields together by offering MRE classes in adoptive-parent training at both public and private adoption agencies or by offering them through post-adoption services. Those who are working with couples may be unaware of how much a marriage can be impacted by the special needs of adopted children. This Tip Sheet highlights common issues…
Fact Sheet, Other
Intended to inform fathers in King County, Washington, this brochure reviews the mission of Child Protective Services (CPS) to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect, provide services to help both parents, and protect the child. Information is provided on dependency cases, free legal assistance resources, the rights and responsibilities of fathers, contact information for complaints about CPS, and resource information for finding an attorney in King County.
This toolkit is designed to support and sustain parent engagement by explaining strategies communities can use to maintain and grow parent engagement work that is already underway. The strategies include creating a parent engagement roadmap, checklist, and support network. The toolkit includes information, examples, and questions that parent and community partners can draw from as they jointly develop parent engagement strategies that reflect their priorities and communities. Section 1 reviews the purpose of the toolkit and Section 2 defines parent engagement and sustainability. The following…
Other, Fact Sheet
This fact sheet assures parents that there is no such thing as a perfect parent and urges them to find their own parenting style. Suggestions are made to help parents find their parenting style, including: taking care of themselves, getting a handle on stress, don't self-medicating with drugs or alcohol, don't try to run a child-centered home, put a high priority on building and keeping a close and healthy relationship with your spouse, and find support in your neighborhood, church, special interest groups, or parenting groups. Contact numbers for parent education groups and parent helplines…
This fact sheet includes helpful information about how children react to domestic violence, short and long-term responses to domestic violence, possible reactions to domestic violence, factors that can help children recover, and working with parents and children through domestic violence situations. (Author abstract)
This information sheet presents findings from a national survey of 1,615 parents of children from birth to three years, conducted by Hart Research for ZERO TO THREE, which shows what is on the minds of fathers and what they need for support in nurturing their young child's healthy development. (Author abstract modified)
