Having a parent who works in the armed forces can create many issues for children. By taking time to understand the challenges that can arise as a result of military life, childcare practitioners can support a child through difficult periods.
Joy O'Neill, an early years teacher, service wife and mother, founded the Service Children Support Network in 2009 to promote an understanding of the specific needs of regular and reservist service children. 'In areas where there are lots of military personnel, practitioners build up experience of what to expect. They get an understanding of the normal patterns of behaviour,' she explains. 'The army tend to move en masse and use nurseries at military bases, but a very small percentage of RAF and Navy families live in military accommodation. Sixty to 70 per cent live in rental or their own homes, which may not be in military areas. These are the children who can slip through the net and we worry about them the most.
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