Supporting service children through regional and remote relocations

Abstract

<p>As the year draws to a close, many service families across Australia are packing up their homes and preparing for new postings. For children in military and first responder families, these moves often mean transitioning between city, regional, rural and remote communities due to their parent's work- adding another layer of adjustment to an already challenging time. To support families with young children through these transitions, an innovative, evidence-based storybook has been developed that explores the unique challenges of moving between different community settings through the heartwarming correspondence between a child and their grandfather. Children from first responder and military families relocate with their parents, sometimes as frequently as every 18 months to 24 months. This creates opportunities for them to experience life in different communities, learn new coping strategies, and try out different early childhood services and schools. Despite this, frequently relocating can disrupt close connections with educators, which is the hallmark of quality education in early childhood services. Additionally, they can miss out on learning certain skills at school when they jump between terms, year groupings, and different education systems. Making friends at a new education service might be a challenge, and they are sad to lose their old friends. Also, extra-curricular and community activities might change between communities, breaking continuity in their learning, skill development, identity and sense of belonging.</p>