Staying connected with the kid/s you love when you’re apart is seldom easy. In addition to being an emotional rollercoaster (for you, the children you love and the caregiver/s left behind), there’s a lot to remember and even more to do: both to stay connected with the children you love and in your day-to-day life away.
Based on research and personal experience, the straightforward structure of Connected Apart’s unique ‘APART Model’ (or APART) helps you to focus on what’s most important, keep things in perspective and make the experience of being apart an enriching, rewarding and positive one for all.
Specifically, APART consists of three ‘stages’ (Leaving, Away and Returning), five ‘commitments’ (Anchor, Prepare, Availability (and Fun!), Reflect and Transition – which together spell ‘APART’, so you can never forget), and a number of easy-to-implement ideas for action to help you stay connected with the children you love when you’re apart.
For some people apart, for example a parent or caregiver on a short business trip or longer-term deployment, all five commitments will likely be relevant. For others, for example a grandparent, uncle or aunty living on the other side of the country, only the ‘While Away’ commitments might feel appropriate.
While APART is based on the notion that everyone, in one way or another, goes through the same three stages of being apart and, therefore, might find each of the five commitments helpful, like we all need to be when apart from the children we love, APART is flexible. Just choose the commitments appropriate to your circumstances, and your own unique experience of being apart, together with a few ideas for actions, and stay connected with the children you love in your own special way.
ConnectedApart 