Child Care and Other Issues Affecting Your Spouse and/or Children

Who Will Look After My Children and What Additional Money Will My Spouse and/or Children Need?

Knowing who will look after your children is so important that the military requires all single active duty servicemembers and dual-service couples with children to prepare a Family Care Plan outlining who will care for the children in their absence and what provisions have been made for the children’s care and support.

To help with your plan’s details, and with Reserve and Guard members’ preparations to leave, consider what expenses may arise because of your absence. As you read the following sections, write down the monthly amount your spouse and/or children will need when you are away. Write these figures on your Reserve Fund Worksheet.

Helping Your Spouse

If you are married and your spouse is a civilian or is not deployed at the same time, he or she may be able to care for your children. Even if you use child care or your children are in school all day, there may be additional expenses while you are away. Think about how your family works. It’s likely that the two of you—together or separately—perform such tasks as:

• Looking after the children



• Buying groceries and making meals



• Cleaning the home and taking care of the garden or lawn



• Repairing small items



• Handling all the jobs that come with family life

While you are deployed, all of these jobs will fall—rather heavily—on your spouse’s shoulders. He or she may be balancing a job in addition to new or expanded roles at home. The result easily could be a person who is stretched too thin to be an effective parent or employee. How can you help avoid some of the stress that will come when you leave? Consider setting some money aside to help with costs, such as:

• Additional baby-sitting, summer camps, or similar activities so the solo parent can have “recovery” time



• Additional meals at restaurants to give the solo parent a break from cooking



• Hiring help for house cleaning, lawn care, repairs, or other jobs you usually perform
  

Arranging for Your Children

If you have children and are single, or you have children and are married but your military spouse is being deployed at the same time, you must arrange for someone else to care for the children. Consider carefully how your children’s lives will change and the cost of these changes, plus any amount you will pay the caregiver. For example:

• Does the caregiver live nearby or would the children have to travel to another area?



• Will you pay the caregiver for looking after your children?



• Will your children have additional expenses while living with the caregiver? For example, would your children have to take a bus to school instead of walking? Will they need to buy lunches instead of bringing lunch from home?

Who Will Take Care Of My Pets? If you have pets and there is no family member or friend available to take care of them while you are deployed, you might try the MilitaryPetsFOSTER Project, which seeks to put pets into foster homes until their servicemember owner returns. Your vet also may be able to offer suggestions. Many breeds of animals have their own “rescue societies” that may be able to help.