Analysis of Children’s Books for Children in Military Deployed Families

Analysis of the Children’s Books for Children in Military Deployed Families
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* Analysis
The five books (see Appendix A) focus on supporting and improving a child’s emotional intelligence and mental health by illustrating how to cope with certain situations in a step-by-step process. Additionally, the books normalize children’s emotions, thereby confiding their fears to their peers when faced with challenging situations, such as when their parents suffer from depression or are taken away from them. The stories tell about how to control and adequately release emotions, find appropriate solutions to a problem, and do excellent self-care despite the lack of help from others.
* How the Books Can Help the Children of Military Deployed Families
* “Can I Catch It Like a Cold? Coping with a Parent’s Depression” and “My Family Divided: One “Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope”
Lester et al. (2013) state that military personnel deployed during wartime almost always suffer from depression secondary to extreme stress. They are usually placed in a situation where their colleagues or subordinates die. Consequently, their families are also placed in the same situation because they understand that their loved ones’ lives are also in danger. This is in addition to the feelings of loss and the lack of communication—both of these result in depression of the military personnel and their family members.
These books illustrate how a child can adapt to the depression of their parents during departure and once they go home. The authors and illustrators simplify the visualized emotions and cope-up strategies for the children. These books normalize the feelings of the children who suffer from depression and encourage seeking help without stigmatizing their situation (Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 2009; Guerrero & Moroz, 2018).
* What Should Danny Do? School Day
Gilbert (2016) associates depression with powerlessness in all ages. This book illustrates how children can have the power to choose even when placed in situations that seem to be hopeless (Levy & Levy, 2017). The book illustrates why the child should choose and how a child can make a choice, with or without the guidance of an elderly. It gives them power and hope.
* Don’t Feed the Worry Bug (Worry Woo Monsters) and The Fix-It Friends: Have No Fear!
Forest et al. (2018) revealed that adult children of the deployed military personnel suffer from long-term anxiety resulting from depression and suicidal ideation. Their mental health is in poorer condition compared to the children of the non-military veteran family. Green (2011) and Kear (2017) illustrated that anxiety can be lessened and should not be fed to prevent a person from exploding. These books helped the children visualize that it is normal to worry, but anxiety should not be carried the whole time because it will cause a burden.
* The Ecological Theory of Development
Eriksson et al. (2018) relate a child’s emotions and responses from the feelings of loss to development’s ecological theory. It explains that people adapt to a complex environment by understanding relationships. Hence, children need to understand all these factors to function correctly within a specified condition.
* Five Strategies to Encourage Alone Time
1 Younger children or even toddlers can have a small space where they can practice their time alone. This only needs a crib for toddlers and a small room for children. The area can be full of safe toys and activity papers that the toddler or child can use. The teacher should be away from this area. A specified time can be given (CWCC, Inc., 2020).
2 Create an experimentation area for the child where he can experiment on activities. An example of this is leaving the child with a paint and illustration board where he can gather his thoughts and paint whatever he likes (CWCC, Inc., 2020).
3 Let the children create a mess by allowing them to clutter and declutter. The materials needed include big objects that do not risk being swallowed (CWCC, Inc., 2020).
* Sample Questions
1 What do you understand about your child’s current status or feelings?
2 How do you make sure that your child understands what you are going through?
3 How do you support your child’s mental and emotional well-being?
4 Can you elaborate on how your child confides in you? Explain.
5 How do you know when there is something wrong with your child?
* Theories Used in the Books
Some of the theories employed in the books in Appendix A include Freud’s Psychosexual Developmental Theory and the Attachment Theory. Freud’s theory focuses on psychosocial development, where he classified each stage of development based on the child’s needs and reactions. Furthermore, he established the causal relationship between psychological processes and sexual intimacies and conflict from birth to young adulthood. It divides the psycho-development into five stages: Stage I is from birth to one-year-old or known as the oral stage. Here, the child satisfies himself by attaching his mouth to the source of pleasure. Stage II refers to the anal stage, which is from one to three-years-old. This is the period of toilet training where the child feels pleasure or inadequacy based on the training result. Stage III, or the phallic stage, describes the primitive sexual attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex during the age of three to six years.
Stage IV relates to impulses, and Stage V illustrates complete relationships and ego feeding (Lantz & Ray, 2020). This theory is demonstrated by the books “My Family Divided: One “Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope,” “Can I Catch It Like a Cold? Coping with a Parent’s Depression,” and “What Should Danny Do? School Day.” The first book explained how a child could cope with the loss of a parent secondary to deportation. It also described th...