Family fitness, fun coincide with Easter on JBER

  • Published
  • By Chris McCann
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Many service members have heard "If the military wanted you to have a family, they'd have issued you one."

That idea has gone the way of forage caps and muskets; all of the military branches now offer classes, support and services to provide for families.

That doesn't make family life just a walk in the park.

Many child abuse cases stem from conditions that are preventable when the community is supportive and engaged, and when parents are equipped and supported.

JBER leadership cares about child development, parent support and parents' and childrens' physical and mental health - factors that help keep families and the community strong, said said Verna Loosli, an outreach manager with JBER Family Advocacy.

"As a community member, by helping someone in stress, you're also helping keep the community strong," Loosli said. "In Alaska we can get isolated, and it's a challenge because of the weather and short winter daylight. There can be a lot of turnover in neighborhoods.

"But knowing your neighbors can be a valuable support - like if you need someone to take your child to school, or someone to enjoy a family walk to the park with."

Raising children is tough. One of the best ways to prevent child maltreatment is to practice positive, nurturing parenting, Loosli said.

As part of the Month of the Military Child, Family Advocacy representatives will be at child development centers and school-age programs throughout April, talking with families and giving away books, posters and calendars - regardless of whether their child uses that facility or not. The mission: to help support parents and give them more "tools in the toolbag."

The FA program continually offers a host of parenting-and family communication classes for those who want to hone their skills.

"If I want to be better at lifting weights, I can read about it, or I can go to the gym and talk to Soldiers there," said Diann Richardson, also an outreach manager. "They're the experts. They don't judge me; they're more than happy to help. It's a good analogy - if I want to be a better parent, I can read, or I can go to the people who are trained in building strong families."

"Sometimes we are reluctant to ask for help, thinking we should be self sufficient, not wanting to appear ill equipped," Loosli said. "But most anyone who is knowledgeable about something truly appreciates it when people want to learn more. We are all experienced parents who feel so passionately about it that we have also gotten professional training. We can teach practical, evidence-based approaches."

Saturday, many of JBER's family and community support agencies teamed up to mesh the Easter Eggstravaganza with the Family Fun and Fitness Day at Buckner Physical Fitness Center. After dashing for plastic eggs outside, families could go into the gym for a host of activities that gave families a way to spend time together despite decidedly un-springlike temperatures.

Family cohesion is important, especially for military families. And "discipline" can be different than the usual idea of "punishment," Richardson said.

"We think of discipline as punishment, but there are so many positive rewards in teaching," she said. "Reward good behavior - praise is free, attention is free. If a child is saying, 'mommy, look, mommy, look' - it doesn't have to turn into irritation. All the child wants is acknowledgement, a moment of your attention."

Praise is important, but especially around the age of 7, children can really decipher if you're being sincere, Richardson said. Praise should be detailed and specific, and encourage more of the behavior.

Touch can also be a critical aspect of family togetherness.

A study recently indicated that basketball teams whose players touch - high-fives, chest-bumps, half-hugs and back pats - consistently communicated better and won games, even when performance measures, salaries and pre-season predictions were filtered out. Touch has proven critical to infant development, and is a feature of almost all mammal parent-child relationships.

Hugs may be the most common, but just rubbing your child's hair or a back-scratching can also be great rewards, Richardson said. Extra privileges, like staying up five minutes later or having an at-home ice-cream party can also be low-cost, high-satisfaction ways to bring your family closer.

"There's a huge arsenal of tools to reward behavior you want to see more of," Richardson said. "In my family, sometimes we have a family art night, with music in the background - just drawing or making a project of recycled materials. And I hear more 'I love you, mommy's during that time than if I took them to Sea World. Kids respond to time and attention."

One group, called Learn, Connect and Play is for parents of very young children, and is hosted from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. every second Friday in Room A37 in Building 600. Parents can bring their children and connect with other parents, share resources, and play.

For more information, call 384-6181 or 384-2932.