The #1 Reading Tip for Military Parents!

As the summer months come to an end, back-to-school season is fast approaching and for most kids, they look forward to being surrounded by familiar hallways and friends. For military families, the transition back to school can be fraught with inconsistency, stress, and even anxiety.

The first day of school can introduce varying challenges for military children. Whether they are starting at a new school because of another relocation, or dealing with the stress of a deployed parent missing their first day of school, the dynamic within the military home can be in constant flux. With these obstacles surrounding the start of a new academic year, it becomes more difficult for a military child to find stability and security.

While many civilian children may have the luxury of reading with both parents, military children often find themselves with only one available storyteller. Learning to read is a critical part of a child's education. And even with hours of class time dedicated to literacy today, it is still essential for children to practice their reading skills by reading in the comfort of their homes.

So, what happens when one parent is absent during such an important time of literacy development? Enter United Through Reading.

United Through Reading is a non-profit organization that connects military families through recorded bedtime stories which allow deployed family members to be a part of the learning process through reading aloud. The program is an ideal reading solution for military parents dealing with any type of separation -- from a yearlong deployment, to a two week training separation.

UTR records deployed, or separated, service members reading stories to their children back home. The books and videos, featuring recorded stories, are then sent to their eager children and spouses back home. The UTR program is designed to ease the stress and anxiety associated with deployment and separation in military families, and provide both comfort and security for military kids by reassuring them their far-away parent is safe and thinking of them.

To date, nearly 2 million military parents, spouses, and children have benefited from UTR. Surveyed program participants report: Strengthened bonds between children and deployed family members; A tangible source of comfort that can support children during stressful times like returning to school; and Stimulated motivation to learn, along with consistency for parents and children alike when academics may become repetitive or challenging due to relocation or deployment anxiety stress.

When reading is integrated with the joys of seeing a deployed parent or loved one, children learn to love an activity they may have once struggled with. Being able to share this experience together can help build early emergent literacy and language skills, a love for books and reading, and a stronger bond between the military child and parent throughout the deployment or separation.

For more than 27 years, United Through Reading has provided a way for military parents and their children to read together and stay connected, even when they are thousands of miles apart. The program sparks an interest in reading and learning that can last a lifetime, and will certainly help during a tough adjustment, and back-to-school season for a military family.