MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- During the Vietnam War, Betty J. Mohlenbrock, founder of the United Through Reading Program, experienced the stress many military spouses with young children are faced with when their other half receives orders overseas.
One of her worries was that her young daughter would become distant from her father during his deployment and not remember him.
Mohlenbrock’s fears were confirmed when her husband returned home and their 2-year-old daughter did not recognize him.
Realizing many military couples around the world suffer the same stresses of family separation as she did, Mohlenbrock founded the United Through Reading Program in 1989.
With sites all around the world, more than half a million people have benefited from the program, easing the stress of family separation for military members.
The station library here supports United Through Reading by providing the necessary tools service members need to participate in the program free of charge.
“(United Through Reading) allows the parent to stay in contact with the child,” said Belinda Pugh, station librarian. “One of the best ways to do that, and I hope that every parent does it, is to read to their children at night — set up that comforting ritual of always having a bedtime story.”
The program involves the parent or grandparent of a child to sit in front of a video camera as it records them reading a story.
The recording is then transferred to DVD, and the child can watch the recording whenever he or she likes.
“It really is the best gift that you can give to your child,” said Pugh. “We’re here in the holiday season, and a lot of parents are running around trying to figure out, ‘How much money do I have to spend on the newest video game or Guitar Hero?’, but really, the best gift that they can give to their children is absolutely free. It just takes a little bit of time.”
Pugh said reading to a child usually takes about five to 10 minutes, which may not seem like a lot, but to a child, it’s a long time.
“It’s five minutes of uninterrupted time with the parent, and that makes them feel very secure,” said Pugh.
Some parents around the station have already participated in the program and found it to be a great way to connect with their children.
Chananuch Reed, mother to a 4-year-old boy, said both she and her husband have participated in the program when they‘ve had to be away from their son.
“I did this for my son, because when I was working in the library as a part-time job, sometimes I had to stay up until the library closed at 10 o’clock,” said Reed. “So I did the DVD so the baby sitter could play the DVD of me reading a story to my son before he went to bed.”
Reed’s husband also participated in the program when he was separated from his family while moving here.
“I wanted my son to know daddy is still with us even though he wasn’t there,” said Reed. “I asked my husband to do the same thing, and once he did, he read an ABC book for my son, and my husband sent it to us. I played it for my son even though he didn’t understand anything at all. He was only 6 months old, but when he saw it, I would say, ‘This is daddy reading you a story’ just to let him know that daddy was with him and daddy will always love him no matter where he was.”
Anyone wanting to make a DVD for their children can contact the station library at 253-3078.