Raising Children in the Military

by Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott, Don Philpott, Jeff Scott

Overview

Military life places unique demands on military families with children including frequent moves, disruptions in schooling, family separation, health care issues, loss of friends, financial hardships, underemployment of military spouses, and the ever present threat of risk of injury or death of loved ones deployed. But learning how to navigate these challenges can help prepare families for those events as they arise.

Here, the authors have assembled information about common problem areas and have included detailed information about solutions and resources available. The information in this guide has been carefully gathered from hundreds of sources and resources and includes the most up to date information about child services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, allowing serving members of the military with children to quickly access information that they need regarding all aspects of child care, from raising a family to education, and from coping with constant moves to grief counseling. It also covers other critical issues such as wellness, family solidarity, benefits, insurance and problems such as addiction and domestic violence. Readers will gain a better understanding of what child services and benefits are available and how to obtain them as well as secrets for successful relationships and family bonding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442227491
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/08/2014
Series:	Military Life
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott is a clinical therapist with a twenty-year track record of counseling services specializing in trauma care, post traumatic stress, and traumatic brain-injury treatment for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families. As a senior consultant, under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, she is part of a team that seeks innovative and proactive ways to enhance resources and services to military members and their families. She recently participated in the corporate mission, vision, and implementation of projects for the Department of Defense to align current and future strategic plans and objectives. Her past positions include the Deputy Program Manager for the Recovery Care Coordination program nationwide for wounded, ill and injured service members and their families.

Don Philpott is editor of International Homeland Security Journal and has been writing, reporting, and broadcasting on international events, trouble spots, and major news stories for almost forty years. For twenty years he was a senior correspondent with Press Association-Reuters, the wire service, and traveled the world on assignments including Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Israel, South Africa, and Asia. He writes for magazines and newspapers in the United States and Europe and is a regular contributor to radio and television programs on security and other issues. He is the author of more than 120 books on a wide range of subjects and has had more than five thousand articles printed in publications around the world. His recent books include Military Finances, Life after the Military, Military Mental Health Care, Terror—Is America Safe?, Workplace Violence Prevention, and the Education Facility Security Handbook.

Jeff Scott, LtCol., is a 26-year prior enlisted United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who has held various leadership positions throughout his service with the most recent being the Commanding Officer of the world's first operational F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter squadron. In addition to being the first operational F-35 pilot and commander, LtCol Scott has received formal service training on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response as part of his leadership training and has mentored many Marines and families. LtCol Scott has also served with senior leadership at the Pentagon.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Family Life in the military
2. Housing
3. Having a baby
4. Adoption
5. Disabilities
6. Child Care and Pre-school
7. Education and disruptions in schooling
8. Special Needs
9. Overseas schools
10. Moving and coping with frequent moves
11. Family separation and deployment
12. Finances, taxes and financial difficulties
13. Employment
14. Coping with death
15. Health care and insurance
16. Coping with stress
17. Substance Abuse
18. Domestic Violence
19. Coping with emergencies
Resources

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/15/2014
There is no doubt that a career in the military poses many challenges for families, especially those with young children. In this stellar offering, clinical therapist Lawhorne-Scott, marine corps lieutenant colonel Jeff Scott, and writer Don Philpott (editor, International Homeland Security Journal) give readers a helpful guide to navigating the many demands military families face, such as frequent moves, the loss of friends, deployment, and even the risk of death. The text not only offers a supportive manual to psychological concerns ("what to expect from your children during postdeployment"), but covers such secondary issues as the underemployment of military spouses and dealing with schooling disruptions. Lastly, the book serves as a directory to military services within the context of government benefits (DEERS enrollment, TRICARE health care, and Family Separation Allowances). VERDICT This book should be available to all families who make ongoing sacrifices for our country. Unequivocally recommended.

Library Journal

This guide offers a straight forward approach and lays out what every military family needs to know about the vast networks and resources offered throughout the service. It pulls together what took me almost two decades to learn all into one place in a manner that even the newest military family can easily grasp.

Conrad R. Carvajal

Forty percent of military personnel are parents—eight percent are single parents—confronting challenges far beyond those typically faced in child rearing. Children in military families must cope with multiple deployments, reintegration, and the threat of combat injuries and death. They may face frequent moves and the accompanying loss of friends and interruptions in schooling. Military life can also present challenges in housing, child care, and unemployment and underemployment of military spouses. The authors present solid information on child services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other resources, including information on helping children with disabilities and special needs as well as overseas schools and homeschooling. They cover myriad family issues, from taxes and finances to adequate insurance coverage, from counseling for addiction and domestic violence to the secrets of maintaining strong and healthy family relationships. This is a helpful guide aimed at the special challenges of military families.

Booklist

Raising Children in the Military is a firsthand example and testament of courage, honor, and growing wisdom in the today’s sometimes challenging and harsh world military families endure. This powerful book guides us through the tender real life challenges military families encounter and provides heartfelt and real life examples of how to navigate the sometimes uncharted and not so easily remedied life of raising a child(ren) in the military. It’s every word rings with truth and is an example of the military and American spirit.

Jordan Michael Hall

OUTSTANDING!!! This is a book that should be read by all, it covers topics that military members deal with on a daily basis. We have been a military family for over 10 years and some of that was as a dual active duty family, and the topics in this book are "spot on" in dealing with military life. The authors capture the nooks and crannies of the military lifestyle along with the trials and tribulations the entire family endures while defending this great nation.

Adrienne Meelarp

Forty percent of military personnel are parents—eight percent are single parents—confronting challenges far beyond those typically faced in child rearing. Children in military families must cope with multiple deployments, reintegration, and the threat of combat injuries and death. They may face frequent moves and the accompanying loss of friends and interruptions in schooling. Military life can also present challenges in housing, child care, and unemployment and underemployment of military spouses. The authors present solid information on child services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other resources, including information on helping children with disabilities and special needs as well as overseas schools and homeschooling. They cover myriad family issues, from taxes and finances to adequate insurance coverage, from counseling for addiction and domestic violence to the secrets of maintaining strong and healthy family relationships. This is a helpful guide aimed at the special challenges of military families.

Booklist