OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- In the old Army years ago a Soldier may have been told, “Don’t talk to me about your family because the Army doesn’t issue you a family.”
Things have come a long way though, as evidenced by a recent conference for teens of personnel from the 200th Military Police Command.
The conference was part of a larger Family Readiness Group leaders training event Aug. 5-6 here.
While the adults were building their leadership skills to enhance family readiness efforts, the teens met separately under the guidance of Meghan Norris, a community outreach specialist for the 200th MP Command’s Army Reserve Child Youth and School Services.
The students had some classes on military culture, before producing a public service announcement (PSA) from scratch.
They brainstormed and talked about different issues facing children within military families and ultimately chose teen depression as the focus of the PSA. Then they developed scenes and wrote a script before acting in and shooting the video.
The PSA was aimed at parents to help them understand what children go through, from the children’s perspective, said Norris.
“It was something they felt empowered by because it was their own creation,” said Norris. “I think that’s what got them engaged and excited about the project.”
“It was really fun,” said Emarah Cousar, 19, a videographer. “I liked the message we were sending and how we were sending it.”
The PSA dramatized a mother and daughter who were separated from the deployed father. Because of the added stress, the mother and daughter began to fight, eventually leading to the child exhibiting signs of depression such as falling grades and over-eating.
“A lot of parents are concerned with what they’re going through and not always aware what their children are going through,” said Cousar. “I think this PSA will encourage parents to talk with their children and through talking the parent will better understand the child.”
Fifteen-year-old Meghan Rinnert also expressed her feelings on parent-child dynamics.
“Parents have a lot of stress with one parent gone,” she said. “When parents get depressed, kids can get depressed.”
Rinnert emphasized that parents should be careful not take out their anger on their children because children have no control over the deployment.
“The most a child can do is try to tell them [parents] what they’re going through,” she said. “We’re hoping that this PSA will reinforce that.”
In addition to the importance of parent-to-child communication, Maj. Gen. Sanford E. Holman, the commander of the 200th, stressed the importance of peer-to-peer communication in dealing with family issues.
He said that the purpose of the youth conference was to give them information on military family life and to allow them to talk amongst themselves about common challenges.
“If we inform the teens appropriately, they can talk amongst themselves in a manner they’re used to whether it’s Tweeting or Facebook or whatever to address the issues,” said Holman, who was in attendance at the FRG training. “Just like deployed Soldiers, they have common experiences that create a bond, and it opens up information sharing.”
At the end of the conference, the teens presented their finished product to the adults.
Not only did it dramatize family tension and emphasize communication, but it also educated viewers on the numerous symptoms of childhood depression. The creators even deftly incorporated moments of comic relief, which, judging by the laughter, were much appreciated given the deep subject matter.
“They really took this task to another level,” said Norris.
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