By: Bunny Young, MA, QMHP
M&M’s of Courage
A jar full of M and M’s sits on the counter with exactly 83 pieces of candy left in it. I walk past it each and every morning and know that as soon as my daughter gets up, even before she has breakfast, she is going to see the jar and ask “How many more candies until daddy comes home?” This was an idea I stole from Pinterest to try to ease her anxiety and give her realistic goals and visual progress that a calendar just can’t provide a three-year-old. Each day we get through with daddy gone is rewarded with candy. When there is no more candy the ultimate reward comes, Daddy is finally home.
For months at a time military families can experience a sharp transition from being a team to being a single parent and handling a child or children who are suffering from missing their parent. There is a cyclical mourning process that quite frankly I do not hope that my child ever gets used to. As a military wife, I adjust and create a “new normal” in our household. When I finally get the hang of it, he comes home and disrupts our system and most times is frustrated by the weeks it takes for him and I to settle back into our family normal and he find his way back to husband and father.
Thank you to all of those that serve our country whether in uniform or at home. Your service to our country is appreciated and supported. We love working with military families and active service members. Click here to schedule your next appointment! How do you combat separation anxiety with your child? Please share your tips on our Facebook page.