European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 stars and stripes thursday april 5 2007 Courtesy of sesame workshop Elmo and his father talk in a scene from sesame streets special on military deployments the show is part of the sesame workshops talk listen connect Campaign to reach out to military families study talking with children about deployment benefits All by Leo Shane in stars and stripes Washington talking with preschoolers about a parents military deployment not Only reas sures the youngsters but also helps Calm the entire family according to new research released tues Day the study conducted As part of the sesame work shops ongoing talk listen connect Campaign to As Sist military families during deployment said that parents who talk about the extended time apart with their preschool age children reported less negative behaviour from those youngsters and fewer feelings of depression themselves parents Are often unsure How much information to share with their children about and particularly True with Young children said Shelly Macdermid co director of the military family research Institute at Purdue University but Mil itary kids Are serving too the findings Arent shocking numerous studies in the past have shown the importance of communication among military family members but experts said this latest Effort is the first time anyone has focused on children As Young As 3 years old there really has been no support for preschool parents said Leslye Arsht Deputy undersecretary of defense for Community and family policy but what weve seen is that the sesame Street Materi als helped parents As much As it helped the Chil Dren the study which involved 367 parents who had preschool age children and a deployed or deploying military spouse tracked the families use of sesame workshop materials the childrens behaviour and the parents emotions during the time apart nearly 80 percent of those surveyed said having some Way to talk with their children about the deployment for most that was a did featuring Elmo dealing with his fathers military both them and their youngsters More comfortable not Only does this reach the children but it helps the entire family said Jeanette Betancourt who helped found the talk listen connect project for More information on the project or to View the sesame Street videos visit email Leo Shane at cafes Gas prices rising in Europe by almost a dime by Bryan Mitchell stars and stripes Raf Mildenhall England and air Force Exchange service Gas prices will continue their steady climb toward s3 a Gal Lon with a nearly 10cent increase scheduled to hit motorists on sat urday the increase in response to Ris ing prices in the United states will bring the Cost of a gallon of super unleaded to per Gal Lon in the United kingdom while Germany will see a gallon of super unleaded Rise to s298 motorists in the azores the Netherlands and Turkey also will be affected by the increase the us department of Energy reported that the average Price for a gallon of regular unleaded reached As of april 2 in the states prices in some parts of the country especially the West coast Are already hovering comfortably above the s3pergal Lon Mark the increase is also a result of changes in the Way cafes adjusts its fuel prices with changes made More frequently to More accurately reflect the current Price in the United states since feb 1 when cafes began to adjust the Price weekly rather than monthly fuel prices in Germany have risen from per gallon for super unleaded to saturdays scheduled Price it col Dave Konop cafes spokesman said he announced the increase in prices two Days earlier than Normal to help motorists save some Cash we certainly want people to be aware of the higher prices on the Way so they can fill their tanks sooner than later Konop said the military fuel buying pub Lic however appears to pay Little notice to Price fluctuations going higher Gas prices Are on the Rise again in the states meaning higher prices at cafes pumps too the prices of fuel have gone up every week since cafes instituted its new weekly Gas pricing policy a look at the Price for a gallon of super unleaded fuel at cafes stations in Germany since feb 1 s300 250 200 150 100 50 stars and stripes to be honest i dont even pay attention said airman 1st class Teresa Pumphrey 24 of san Jose Calif since it the Price is not in Gallons i dont want to sit there and try to figure it out she said As Long As she continues to travel 300 Miles in her toy Ota Echo on a full tank of Gas which runs roughly s20 to the ups and Downs in cafes prices will barely Register Carl Lewis department of de sense civilian employee said the newest Price increase wont alter his driving routine he said the Price of Gas would have to Rise to nearly per gallon to change the Way he drives you pretty much have to pay anyway no matter what the Cost he said whether it goes up or Down what Are you going to do for a full list of fuel prices go to email Bryan Mitchell conference to address How combat stress affects family by Lisa Burgess stars and stripes Arlington a this years 15th International civilian and military combat stress con Ference will focus on the effect of combat stress on families As Well As War fighters the annual event will be held May 410 at Camp Pendleton Calif and was founded by psychologist Bart Billings a retired army Reserve lieutenant colonel to emphasize this years family theme All sessions on saturday and sunday will be free to family members of participants who have paid to attend the Confer ence Billings said family members also will be invited to attend for free Satur Days dinner and a variety show the conference subtitled sup porting our War fighters their families terrorism combat stress operation iraqi Freedom issues Post traumatic stress Dis order will include sessions on military family violence readjust ment following deployment com Bat stress help for returning troops and their families and Les sons Learned about the mental health Impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan vice adm Donald Arthur sur Geon general of the Navy is scheduled to deliver the conferences opening remarks Billings said he founded the conference after realizing during the Gulf War that the military needed to do a better Job preparing service members and their families for the stress of deploy ment the event is not funded by the department of defense but is being organized with support from Psychol Gal associates inc a Californi abased continuing education company for men Tal health and Legal professionals Jaime Cavazos a spokesman for the us army medical com Mand while the army does not official sponsor the event the ser vice has at times funded participants and speakers it is a Long running and important supplement to the other efforts the army has in combat and operational stress control he said for More information on the 15th annual International civil Ian military combat stress con Ference go to email Lisa Burgess at
