We work to increase awareness and collaboration throughout the military community for both parents and professionals.
The Military Family Projects Team at ZERO TO THREE works to develop resources and tools that support the health and development of infants, toddlers and their families.
Our work ranges from supporting young children in military-connected families through the creation of parent tools to developing professional development content for those who engage in military family support around the world.
Source: Sogomonyan, F. & Cooper, J. L. (2010). Trauma faced by children of military families: what every policymaker should know. National Center for Children in Poverty.
Children from military families may have to move and change schools every two to three years. For infants and toddlers, the separation or frequent changes often associated with being part of a military family can significantly impact their development and mental health compared to civilian children. The military family resources on our app can be easily implemented at home to support a child’s needs when a parent or caregiver leaves for an extended period.
One of them is to record short videos of the leaving parent or caregiver reading or singing lullabies to the child. These can be played when they are away so the child can feel connected despite the distance. The leaving parent can also write notes to the child for the at-home parent to read to them when they are struggling with the separation.
Our resources offer strategies to provide military family support for remaining connected during deployment, accessing mental health care for the entire family, relieving combat stress and transitioning to civilian life.
Our Babies on the Homefront app is designed to keep up with the many transitions military families go through and to maximize the relationship that can be maintained long distance. Through secure messaging, creative baby games, sharing updates and finding answers to parenting questions, this app provides military family support to keep parents engaged. The app contains resources for military families in the form of material and strategies parents can add to their toolboxes.
App resources can be filtered by age groups, and can help partners of deployed parents cope at home and provide tools for working with their children as well. The at-home parent will often have to do a large amount alone, especially if they do not have access to military child care, and the app can be a useful and comforting resource.
My husband’s time as an active duty service member was full days, weeks, and months of separation due to deployment, training, work-ups, changes in work schedules–not to mention all the moving from one duty station to another!
ZERO TO THREE offers a comprehensive resource library for information on early childhood development. We also work to increase awareness and collaboration throughout the military community for both parents and professionals. Our work teaches the importance of early connections — because they last a lifetime.
From early learning to infant and early childhood mental health, learn more about our organization's primary issue areas and the programs that are making a difference. We help adults help babies. Discover how you can make a difference with our many ways to give or donate to support our work with military families.
