

U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue/Released
Teens may experience a range of emotions as they prepare for a loved one’s deployment. For example, teens may feel anxious, proud, sad or even confused about their parent’s upcoming deployment.
With your teen experiencing many physical, emotional and social changes during this time of their life, help maintain stability in your family by taking proactive steps to prepare him or her before you leave. Prepare your teen for your departure by understanding his or her reactions, offering support and helping to establish healthy coping skills and behaviors. These steps can help strengthen your family’s resilience so they can successfully adjust throughout each stage of deployment.
Include your teen in family pre-deployment conversations. This can help them prepare for your departure and also give your teen a sense of participation in family decisions. Here are some helpful pre-deployment tips:1
For additional tips and tools to help your family cope with deployment, read the Real Warriors Campaign article, “Coping with Separation [1].”
Your teen may go through some emotional and behavioral changes after you deploy. The parent at home, and other caregivers should pay attention to the signs listed below to determine if their teen is responding to deployment in an unhealthy way. If any of the following behaviors continue for more than two weeks, it’s important that your family seeks care from a health professional:1
If your teen intentionally hurts himself / herself, appears at risk of hurting others or expresses suicidal ideation, seek help immediately.1
Often, teens will initially cope with stress by keeping their feelings to themselves. It’s important for caregivers to be there for your teen when they need someone to talk to. Read the National Military Family Association’s “10 Things Military Teens Want You To Know [2]” [PDF 900KB] to gain insight into some common ways teens can cope, and how friends, family and their school can help support your teen.
In addition, caregivers should consider using some helpful tactics to encourage your teen to adopt healthy behaviors while you are deployed. For example, caregivers can:1,2
If you think your teen is having difficulty coping with your deployment, remember to reach out for help. The DCoE Outreach Center is staffed by trained health care consultants 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you or another caregiver has any questions about how to help your children cope, reach out by calling 1-866-966-1020 or logging on to the Real Warriors Live Chat [3].
After you return from deployment, you can take some proactive steps to reconnect with your teenager. It is important that you understand common behaviors exhibited by teens and the common reasons why your teen may be acting in such ways. Doing so will enable you to directly address his or her feelings about your deployment and begin reconnecting as a family. Read the Real Warriors Campaign article “How to Reconnect with Your Teen After a Deployment [4]” for some helpful guidance on bonding with your teen after a long time away from home.
1 “Teens and Deployment [19],” [PDF 62.53KB] Iowa National Guard. Published 2006.
2 “Frequently Asked Questions: Military Families.” Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Published July 2011.
Links:
[1] http://www.realwarriors.net/family/children/deploymentseparation.php
[2] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/2804
[3] http://www.realwarriors.net/livechat
[4] http://www.realwarriors.net/guardreserve/reintegration/familyreintegration.php
[5] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/1731
[6] https://qol.navyaims.net/CYPWeb/Web/Home/Home.aspx
[7] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/2805
[8] http://www.militaryonesource.mil/deployment/pre-deployment?content_id=266624
[9] http://www.focusproject.org/
[10] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/2348
[11] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/2806
[12] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/78
[13] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/2807
[14] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/1730
[15] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/636
[16] http://www.realwarriors.net/go/1280
[17] http://www.afyouthprograms.com/
[18] http://www.myarmyonesource.com/
[19] http://www.iowanationalguard.com/family/YouthPrograms/Documents/Teenagers and Deployment.pdf