MSOTS - January

Maura Bonham Navy spouse — National Capital Region

“My kids were 2 and 4 during my husband's last deployment, but a tech-free tip that I love to give military parents is a Deployment Wall! We had a map of the world on the wall, with a heart on Florida where we lived, and then I printed out a small picture of an aircraft carrier and we would move the boat around wherever my husband was!

The wall also had photos of the ship, my husband's helicopter, and photos of the kids with their dad before he left. I had found a large metal envelope at Target before he deployed, and in that, the kids could put letters or pictures to send in the next care package! We also did a Count Up paper chain, adding 7 slips of paper every week to count up the deployment! At the end of the deployment, we had a bonfire and burned it! Another way that we help our kids with deployments is with books! Some of our favorites are ‘Lily Hates Goodbyes,’ ‘Invisible String,’ and ‘The Night Catch’.”

Brenna Van Stone Air Force spouse

“We have a fairy house, and the fairy brings small notes and chocolates to the kids from my husband. He writes so many notes ahead of time to cover a bunch of topics. This helps keep the children engaged in something that’s not only tangible but provides another way for them to feel connected with their dad while he’s away.”

Jeannette Balboni Former Army spouse — Flagler Beach, FL

“During a year-long unaccompanied tour, I created an area in our house that showed the time difference between home and Korea with two different clocks, and each month had a themed candy that my kids could each have one per day to countdown. My husband also sent the boys postcards of the different places he was getting to see in Korea, and we had a bulletin board that got covered in all of the sites.”