As a National Guard wife, one of the hardest transitions for us as a military family is preparing to settle in once my husband returns home from deployment.

Regardless if you have an infant, toddler or teen – building a relationship during deployment can be tricky and sometimes feel downright impossible.

Military service members make sacrifices each day for our freedom and military families constantly make sacrifices, too. Children are amoung these silent ranks, and are at times forgotten. How do we help our children cope and learn to stay resilient?

The day my husband transferred from PA to NJ, I knew a move was well ahead of us. But this doesn’t bother any of us, since we love exploring and seeing new things. What does bother us? Childcare.

As a member of a military family are more likely to experience high stress levels due to deployments, separations, moves, and major life changes. Remeber, it is normal to feel out of control. So how are we able to move forward during these periods of stress?

In 2010 the Red Cross provided over 597,000 emergency communications for over 150,000 military families and over $6 million in financial aid to 5,000 families. In addition to this, there have been thousands of volunteers, including servicemembers and military families have offered their ongoing support to our wounded troops and their families in hospitals across the country and worldwide.

What happens when you are called to duty and there is no one left to care for your child? Operation Military Child Care is a DoD program that may help.

Deployment takes a large toll on military families. But have we thought about what it does to our children? Does your child have your support?

Military service members make sacrifices each day for our freedom and military families constantly make sacrifices too. As families learn to bravely handle the many challenges that deployment and the military life bring, others are in awe at just how strong one can be out of nowhere.

An important part of preparing children for deployment is communication and helping them understand why parents deploy. The Sesame Street Military Outreach Program helps children understand the reasons for deployment and living the military life.