Posted by Corina Notyce
, DCoE Strategic Communications
on October 17, 2012
Lt. Cmdr. Victor Glover is greeted by his daughters at the Naval Air Facility Atsugi airfield during a homecoming celebration. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Justin Smelley)
This blog post was written by Dr. Pam Murphy, a child psychologist at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2), a Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury center.
Before the deployment you talked with your kids about what they thought or were worried about regarding the upcoming deployment. During the deployment you had a plan and made a real effort to stay in touch with your family. Now you’re home and you can relax, right? Actually, kids often say the time after their parent returns home is the toughest part of a deployment for them. It’s because of all the changes.
Think about the concept of change from a child’s point of view. They had things figured out during your absence. They had to. You wanted them to adjust to your absence because you wanted them to continue to grow and thrive while you were gone. Absolutely, your kids are relieved and happy to have you home, but now they have to adjust again.