If you have someone currently serving away from home or have a deployment on the horizon Little Troopers can help. Over the last ten years we have been listening to our military families and have developed a suite of resources that you can tap into.

Louise, founder of our charity said, “When I started this charity, I wanted to provide support for my little girl who was really struggling with her Dad’s deployment. Our aim has always been to help our little troopers with the unique challenges that they face as military children. While we started out small we have worked with hundreds of families over the last ten years to develop lots of resources.”

“I am so proud of everything we have achieved and thought we would put everything together to help if you are going through deployment or have one coming up.”

All of the Little Troopers Resources can be found on our website alongside our Little Troopers at School project, but here is a brief overview:

Separation pack – Our tri-service separation pack is full of various resources to enable Little Troopers to stay connected to their serving parent while they are away, be it for 10 months or one month. Many Welfare teams and Community Support teams buy these in bulk from our charity so check with yours before ordering.

Little Troopers Treasures – Our unique story telling app is available to download on i-pad and tablet devices. It is the perfect way to let Mum or Dad still be part of the bedtime routine no matter where they are in world. Through the App, the serving person can choose a book and record a video. As the video plays the pages turn in synchronisation with their allowing the children to see the story and hear their parents voice.

Our Little Troopers books – Our charity has created a unique set of stories for little troopers. We have six beautifully written and illustrated story books that follow military children through the sometimes slightly different life they lead and the situations they often find themselves in.

Birthday card scheme – We want our little troopers to feel special all year round but their birthday is definitely one day that we can celebrate how fabulous they are. Our charity loves to be part of that. Whether you are home or deployed you can send us your special message and we’ll ensure that we pop it into a special card and get it in the post.

In addition to everything above we have also developed a number of downloadable resources, here are just a few:

Time difference sheet – This can be downloaded and used anytime a parent is deployed to another country. It is a very visual way for children to see what their Mum or Dad might be doing during their day.

Separation diaries – We have developed a diary for the child and one for the serving parent. By writing down a few notes each day or week, it can help you share your news when you speak or at the end of a deployment.

X-ray of feelings – This is a series of five beautifully illustrated pictures showing an X-Ray of a child’s body which undercovers some of the thoughts and feelings they might be experiencing when facing some military life situations. Many families have found them a great visual aid to help their children talk about their feelings.

Certificates – These certificates can help you praise your child on how well they have coped. Whether it has been 2 weeks or nine months, having a parent away can be tough for any age group. Use our certificates to let them know you think they are special and have done really well! You can download, print and customise.

Crafty Little Troopers – It can be really hard to keep the children occupied and entertained during a deployment. We have over 50 crafty little troopers activities to do together or give the parent at home five minutes peace. There are themed crafts: Christmas, Halloween, Easter etc and many more.

Louise adds “I hope this gives you an idea of what we have to help. If you have a friend who doesn’t know much about Little Troopers or know a family that has just joined the military why not send this article onto them.”