By Aaron J. Heiner NDW Public Affairs
Between a fulltime military career, and making time for home life, raising kids today can be tough. Frequent deployments and relocations is not all fun and games for military members or their children. Fortunately, the Child and Youth Programs offered by Fleet and Family Readiness (FFR) can provide assistance in balancing the demands of mission readiness with family obligations.
"We provide Child Development Centers (CDC) to parents with children that are ages between 6 weeks until 5 years old. The centers ensure a safe environment where parents can drop their child off before work," said Jodee Vaseleck, Naval District Washington's Child and Youth Program manager.
The CDC allows two parent families the opportunity to earn additional household income by providing an affordable option in day care. With locations on base near where many families live, CDC allows these working families a better alternative than having to leave the installation for child care.
"The location of the center is very convenient to where I work. The staff is very open," said Erin Travers, whose 7 month old infant attends the CDC at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB). "When I fear my son may not be feeling well, I can call the center at anytime. The staff responds immediately."
After school care is also available for children whose parents may work later shifts. Vaseleck added, "We also have school aged care programs for children who need after school care. Our programs also include a summer camp during the summer and special camps during the holidays."
Along with the CDC, the youth centers provide a safe, wholesome environment for children to participate in activities and youth sports.
Teen Director, Ricardo Bailey, with the Youth Sports and Fitness Program at the Youth Center located at JBAB, stated that the youth center also offers a wide array of educational activities to help children learn, as well as keep them mentally and physically active.
"The center offers a lot of educational material for children to use indoors during the colder months," said Bailey. "Yet we also have facilities outside which allows the children to participate in outdoor activities when the weather permits."
Team sports play an important role in activities at the center to assist in keeping children active and in good shape.
"The Youth Center offers many different excellent sports programs to keep the children moving," said Bailey. "All kids, upon registration in one of our programs, are placed on a team and can practice one hour a day, two days a week with games on Saturday."
Not all children may have the option of participating in sports. Children with special needs are accommodated through Kids Included Together (KIT). KIT is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide learning opportunities through recreation and enrichment programs to children with or without disabilities, according to Vaseleck.
"Any parent who has a child with special needs is able to register with KIT," said Vaseleck. “KIT will help us determine how to make accommodations."
Another way that Child Youth Programs can assist working families is through the Give Parents a Break program. This program offers after-hour care to children to permit active duty Sailors and their spouses the ability to manage additional tasks.
"Give Parents a Break offers an after-work-hour option for parents to drop children off in a safe environment," said Vaseleck. "This gives children, activities with good supervision while allowing parents some time to themselves."
For more information on how your child can participate in the Child and Youth Programs, please visit: www.cnic.navy.mil/CNIC _HQ_Site/WhatWeDo/FleetandF amilyReadiness/FamilyReadiness /FleetAndFamilySupportProgram /AboutUs/AboutUs-FleetandFam ilySupportPrograms/ChildDevelopmentandYouthPrograms/index .htm