Military children: when parents are deployed overseas.

Members of the Armed Services and Reserve Unit Members, both male and female, are being deployed to distant lands for long periods of time, disrupting family life and causing stressful times for the adults and children in the family. Traditionally, the mother of the military family was left to be the caregiver after the deployment of the husband/father. Today, extended family members as well as mothers or fathers are asked to serve as caregivers for dependent children of deployed servicemen and servicewomen. This article provides information about the challenges families face and the psychosocial developmental needs of children and families during the five stages of military deployment: predeployment, deployment, sustainment, redeployment, and postdeployment. School nurses can offer children and families support and link them with available resources and networks that will assist them with their needs.