Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home
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April is the month of the military child and what better way to honor a military child then by presenting them with this book for during deployments! Author, Kristin Ayyar was inspired to write Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home
“I searched for books to help my 4 year old daughter cope with her father deploying to Afghanistan and found nothing that quite fit our situation. My book is not only a great story for kids it has real suggestions for parents on how to keep you family connected during deployments or frequent business travel.”
My Review of Countdown ’til Daddy Comes Home
The first thing I noticed about this book was the wonderful, bright, and large illustrations. My son loves books and he loves looking at the pictures and noticing all the little things about them. This book has perfect pictures for that! I also love that this book is not only written to help military families but also for families who have a parent who may have to travel a lot.
The story starts from a little boy’s perspective of how his daddy is getting ready to leave. I love how it goes through the tough feelings but also talks about ways to deal with them. It continues through giving ideas of what the little boy did to keep in touch with his daddy and to keep the relationship going.
See Also: Care Package Ideas for Military Kids
At the end of the story, it covers getting ready for daddy’s homecoming, and all the preparations that come during that time. Then after daddy gets home it shows the little boy getting one-on-one time with his dad. This book is perfect for children during deployments because it covers every phase of the deployment. It prepares them for what to expect and gives them solutions of what they can do to stay close to their daddy even though he is far apart from them.
At the end of the book, there are discussion questions that will lead you to talk to your child about the upcoming deployment and for during the deployment. There is also a section for other ways to help countdown the days until daddy comes home. I love this book and recommend it for every military child! I can’t wait to use it for my son next time his daddy deploys.
Buy The Book: Countdown’Til Daddy Comes Home
About the Author:
Kristin Ayyar is the mother of three wonderful children, an avid volunteer in her community, and has been a Air Force spouse since 1990. Countdown ‘til Daddy Comes Home is a book based on her family’s experiences and is filled with rituals that she and her children follow when her husband is traveling the globe or deployed overseas serving our nation. Kristin Ayyar lives wherever the United States Air Force sends her family.
I got this wonderful Sesame Street video of predeployment and deployment and even post deployment experiences that Elmo has when his father is deployed. We watched it with our 3.5 year old at the time and he understood much more then we thought he would (he cried). He understood that daddy was going to leave for a long time and that he could talk on the phone or Skype and that daddy would be returning. Elmo and his dad exchanged their favorite things for each to keep in the absence. I think this tape is free and can be found on Military One Source (I got mine at a Yellow Ribbon event). I recommend it. Well done.
Thank you so much for posting about this book! My 5 year old just started reading and with his daddy about to deploy, I think this will help him cope a little better.