At the beginning of 2007, almost 1.4 million men and women were on active duty in the U.S. military, and another 829,000 were serving in the reserve forces or the National Guard. More than one third of those 2.2 million service members were married with children. About 5.4% of active duty service members and 8.2% of reserve service members were single parents. Active-duty service members who are parents are most likely to have children age 5 or younger. Reserve service members are most likely to have children who are between 6 and 14 years old.

Many of those parents will be deployed for at least a year at a time. Some parents experience multiple deployments. Although children of different ages will have different reactions, all children are likely to have many questions and concerns about the future when a parent is deployed. It is important for parents and caregivers to talk with the children about what is happening around them.

This section of Purple Wagon provides several fact sheets for military families and their children. There are also a number of resources for teachers who may have the children of those parents in their classrooms.



» Books and Activities for Parents About Death

» Helping Children Understand Death

» Links for Military Families

» Staying Connected with Children: Activities for Deployed and
    Deploying Parents

» Talking with Students About Deployment: A Guide for Teachers

» A Teacher's Guide to Talking About Death

» When Parents Are Deployed

   Materials written and compiled by Mary Schultheis and Judith Myers-Walls.