Military Families Learning Network

If you were able to join the Thursday, April 5  Personal Finance web presentation by Dr. Sandra Bailey, you were in for a treat. Dr. Bailey shared her expertise on the topic of grandparents and other kinship raising children while parents are deployed or otherwise unable to care for their children.  Dr. Bailey provided great information and identified numerous resources addressing the logistics of loco in parentis (or in place of the parent) parenting.

The web conference participants proved also to be a great asset as they engaged and expanded the conversation. The 154 or so participants shared their own experiences and knowledge from working with military service members. These stories and resources enriched this webinar tremendously, and their participation is  valued.

For example, one participant shared her experience of raising her two granddaughters while her daughter is deployed with the Air Force.  She has chronicled her experiences in her blog, Deployed Grandma, in the hopes of providing information that may be useful to others going through similar situations. Part of the rich dialogue during the conference was the sharing of online spaces offering support for caregivers.  Sites shared, to name a few, include Families Near and Far and the National Respite Network.  It is vitally important that caregivers receive support, and take the occasional break from raising children.

Special concerns related to grandparents raising grandchildren were also raised during the presentation. Many “GRGs” are still working and are doubly stressed by the responsibility of caring for children, a second time around, or “off-time parenting.” Not only is their time stretched to meet these roles, but they may also find their peers are unable to relate to their new responsibilities.

Below are some of the resources you shared during this presentation. Did I leave something out? If so, please leave your resource in the comments section.

• Deployed Grandma, a blog about raising 2 granddaughters while her Air Force enlisted daughter is deployed
• Families Near and Far, a website for military families to connect online
• Legal issues facing grandparents raising grandchildren
• About the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission
• Military K-12 Partners
• National Respite Network and Resource Center
• Military Child Education Coalition
• www.Militaryonesource.com
• AARP – Grandfacts
• Red Cross, Coping with Deployments
• For specific questions about the Red Cross’ programs to support military families, contact: wendy.dyer@redcross.org
• Operation Military Kids
• Zero to Three’s Coming Together Around Military Families program
• Army-wide directory for school support services (Oct. 2010)
• Brookdale Foundation list of resources for Relatives as Parents
• http://www.AARP.org
• Generations United

If you were unable to join the live presentation of this webinar, please check http://learn.extension.org/events/458, where an archived recording of the session will be posted soon.

Author: Molly C. Herndon (+Molly Herndon, @MollyCHerndon)