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Social Story for a Military Deployment
A deployment social story helps a child understand that a parent is going away for a long time for their job in the military, and what life at home will look like while they are gone. Deployments are long, often months, and the dates can change, which is hard for a young child who measures time in sleeps. A story can make the shape of it clearer: the goodbye, the counting, the calls when they can happen, and home carrying on.
There is a separate story on this site for a parent going away on a shorter trip. This one is for the longer kind, and it doesn’t promise a homecoming date it can’t keep. Free to read aloud, or make one with your child as the hero, by name.
What will happen, in order
- My parent has a job far away
- We say goodbye
- We count the weeks
- We stay in touch when we can
- Home stays the same
Read the steps together in the daytime, more than once. The free printable below has these steps at the top and the bedtime story underneath.
Zara and the Paper Chain
A free story to read aloud tonight
Zara’s mom was in the Navy. Most of the time that meant a uniform and early mornings. But this time, Mom said, it meant going away on a ship, for a long time, longer than a whole summer.
“Why do you have to go?” asked Zara. “Because it’s my job,” said Mom, “and it’s an important one. I don’t want to leave you. But I’m going to think about you every single day.”
Before she left, Mom and Zara made a paper chain, one link for every week. Each Sunday, Zara would tear one off. When the chain got short, that would mean Mom was getting closer to coming home. A few links at the end were a different color, for “maybe”, because sometimes the dates moved.
Mom recorded herself reading three of Zara’s favorite books, so Zara could hear her at bedtime. And she gave Zara one of her old T-shirts, which still smelled like Mom, to sleep with.
After Mom left, the house was quieter. Zara was sad sometimes, and cross sometimes, and some days she forgot for a while and just played. Dad said all of those were okay. When a video call came, sometimes Mom’s face froze, and they laughed at it. When a call didn’t come, Zara tore off a link anyway.
At bedtime, Zara pressed play, and Mom’s voice read the one about the bear. Zara held the T-shirt, and looked at the paper chain on the wall, getting shorter, and fell asleep listening.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
How do I explain deployment to a young child?
Short and true usually works best: where the parent is going, in simple words, that it is their job, that it will be a long time, and how you will stay in touch. Try not to promise a homecoming date that might change. Military family support organizations, and the family support group connected to your parent’s unit, often have resources made for young children.
What helps a child while a parent is deployed?
Many families use a countdown a child can see (a paper chain or a jar), recorded bedtime stories, a piece of the parent’s clothing, and keeping the daily routine the same. Big feelings, clinginess and sleep changes are common. If they are severe or lasting, talk to your pediatrician.