Parenting for Service Members

Parenting for Service Members
Parenting for Service Members is an anonymous, online self-help course designed to help the military community improve their parenting skills. It provides military parents with tools and practical advice to help them reconnect with their families after a separation, strengthen relationships with their children and build upon their existing parenting skills.

Using stories from real veteran and military families, interactive activities and a curriculum developed by leading experts, Parenting for Service Members helps parents address both everyday parenting problems and family issues unique to their military history.

Module 1 Back into the Family Module 2 Promoting Positive Parent-Child Communication Module 3 Helping Your Child with Difficult Emotions and Behaviors Module 4 Positive Approach to Discipline Module 5 Managing Stress and Emotions as a Parent Module 6 Parenting with Emotional and Physical Challenges

Since 2001, lengthy and multiple combat deployments have disrupted life for millions of military family members. This course can help these parents reintegrate and reconnect with their children, whether they are returning from a current deployment or have reintegrated many years ago.

Parents with combat injuries or mental health concerns can find strategies for parenting in the face of such personal challenges. All parents, whether struggling or satisfied with their children’s behavior, will find Parenting for Service Members gives them tools they can use today to teach their children skills and values that they can keep for a lifetime.

The Parenting for Service Members course provides a strength-based approach for addressing parenting issues before more serious issues arise. Registration is not required to take the course, and no personal information is ever requested or stored by the website.

Parenting for Service Members is a stand-alone course, but it may be used with in-person counseling. The Web course is not intended to replace mental health treatment and offers parents specific guidelines on when they might seek professional help for their child or family.

This course was developed as part of the DoD/VA Integrated Mental Health Strategy. The National Center for Telehealth & Technology and the Veterans Administration partnered with each other to lead this effort. This was established to advance a coordinated public health model to improve access, quality, and efficiency of mental health services for all active duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members, veterans, and their families.