By: Jason Jowers, M.S., MFT
Raising healthy children is a full-time job, as many parents can attest to. Every child and family is unique and many require additional help to navigate all the challenges both inside and outside of the family unit.
Military families have unique challenges as well, often involving issues around parental military deployments and family transitions. Luckily, there are a lot of resources and organizations to provide parents and families with the support they need.
To help military parents, we wanted to share some unique resources that support parents as they learn and practice effective strategies for raising healthy children. Look for many of these resources and programs throughout our OneOp Family Development programming.
- Military OneSource has the MilParent Power campaign, connecting military families, community leaders, and service members to the wide range of Department of Defense programs and resources designed to support healthy parenting. Learn more about it at the Military OneSource webpage.
- Be sure to head on over to our OneOp Thrive Series webpage, which houses all the programming we have shared so far on the Thrive Initiative! Penn State’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Military Community and Family Policy have partnered to develop the THRIVE Initiative, a continuum of parenting programs for parents of children from birth to 18 years of age. The THRIVE Initiative programs focus on three important areas: positive parenting practices, parent and child stress management and physical health promotion. Three of the four programs are now available online at no cost to parents.
- We collaborated across OneOp teams to bring you the 5 part Kids Serve Too Webinar Series, all about Sesame Street for Military Families!
- For parenting tips on teaching children about finances, watch our Family Finances Series: Raising Financially Responsible Children webinar, part one of a three-part webinar collaboration.
- For help maintaining family routines, tune into our The Power of Family Mealtimes: Strategies to Promote Health & Well Being webinar, a collaboration with OneOp Nutrition & Wellness.
This are just a small sample of what is out there to support parents. In the comments let us know of any organizations, programs, and resources that you recommend!
Blog Image: U.S. Air Force [Military Parenting Website Assists Communication by DOD Photo, October 22, 2013, CC0]
