How Reading Promotes Emotional Wellness in Military Families

May 3, 2025

Reading is a gateway to learning and a powerful tool for nurturing emotional wellness across all stages of life. Research consistently shows that reading stories can reduce stress levels by up to 68% and increase empathy and emotional intelligence, benefits especially crucial for military families navigating separation. At United Through Reading (UTR), we’ve witnessed firsthand how stories create vital emotional connections between military service members and their families during time apart. When military parents record themselves reading children’s books through our program, they’re not just sharing stories but providing emotional anchors that help children navigate feelings of loneliness, uncertainty, and pride often accompanying military life.

The Science Behind Reading and Emotional Wellness

• Studies from the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%, even more effective than listening to music or taking a walk.
• Research published in the Journal of Research in Personality shows that people who read fiction show higher levels of empathy and emotional intelligence.
• A 2018 Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics study found that reading aloud to children strengthens parent-child bonds and promotes emotional resilience.

From the youngest preschoolers to teenagers, literature helps readers name their feelings, build empathy, and navigate difficult emotions. Stories create safe spaces to explore big ideas, offering mirrors of one’s experience and windows into others’. By thoughtfully selecting books through UTR’s offerings, military families can use reading to support emotional growth, resilience, and understanding, no matter the distance between them.

Preschool

Emotional regulation is just beginning to develop in early childhood. Reading picture books can help preschoolers recognize and talk about their feelings in a concrete, safe way. For military families with young children, recorded storytimes through UTR’s app or at our recording stations provide crucial emotional continuity during deployments or training. Studies from the National Literacy Trust show that children who engage with books regularly during their early years develop stronger emotional vocabulary and better self-regulation skills. This emotional foundation is especially critical for military children experiencing the stress of parent separation. Our Story Stations at military installations allow service members to record these emotionally nurturing stories before deployment, giving children the comfort of their parents’ voice during separation.

Recommended books:

• The Color Monster by Anna Llenas introduces emotions as colors, helping children identify and name what they feel, whether it’s sadness, anger, happiness, or calm. For military children experiencing complex emotions about a parent’s deployment, this visual metaphor is easy for young minds to grasp.
• When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry… by Molly Bang validates the experience of anger and models a healthy way to calm down through time alone and nature, particularly helpful for young children processing the big feelings that come with family separation.
• How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague uses dinosaurs to show both inappropriate and appropriate ways to express anger, making it easier for young children in military families to understand and manage deployment-related frustrations.

Elementary School

As children grow, they encounter new challenges like friendships, school pressure, and family dynamics—all of which can be intensified by military moves and separations. Books at this level should offer relatable characters and situations that reflect real emotional conflicts. According to research published in Psychological Science, children who read stories about characters experiencing similar challenges show measurable decreases in stress hormones. These “mirror” stories can provide crucial emotional processing tools for military children facing unique stressors. Elementary-aged children benefit greatly from our app’s video library feature. This feature allows them to build a collection of recorded stories from their service members that they can return to whenever strong emotions arise.

Recommended books:

• The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig explores themes of inclusion and empathy. It helps children understand what it feels like to be left out—a common experience for military kids who frequently change schools—and how small acts of kindness can transform someone’s experience.
• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson explores the power of kindness and the regret that can come when we miss opportunities to show it. Through UTR recordings, service members can discuss these themes of empathy and kindness with their children despite physical separation.
• Angry Octopus by Lori Lite provides calming techniques when anger erupts through the story of an angry octopus. When recorded by a parent, these guided relaxation exercises become even more powerful tools for children managing separation anxiety.

Our surveys show 87% of military families report improved emotional resilience in children who regularly engage with UTR recordings during deployments. To help your child track their reading progress and emotional journey, check out our free printable reading trackers for kids.

Middle School

Middle schoolers experience emotional ups and downs as they navigate puberty, identity, and social dynamics. Add frequent moves and parent absences for military teens, and emotional support becomes even more crucial. Fiction can help them feel less alone and give voice to the thoughts they may struggle to express. A study in the Journal of Adolescent Research found that reading fiction during adolescence significantly increases teens’ ability to understand others’ emotions and perspectives, an essential skill for military teens navigating complex social environments after relocations. Reading also builds confidence and resilience in children, qualities particularly valuable for middle schoolers in military families. Our teen-focused selections allow older children to maintain meaningful conversations about complex emotions with their deployed parents through shared reading experiences.

Recommended books:

• Wonder by R.J. Palacio teaches kindness and courage through the story of Auggie, a boy with a facial difference, entering school for the first time. Military teens who feel like outsiders after relocations can find strength in Auggie’s journey.
• Starfish by Lisa Fipps follows Ellie, a girl bullied for her weight, as she learns to claim space and find her voice. This book offers validation and encouragement for military youth navigating new social environments.
• Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson explores early adolescence through a creative protagonist using art to process his struggles—a strategy many military kids use to express deployment-related emotions.

High School

High schoolers benefit from reading that explores identity, mental health, and the complexity of relationships. They often seek deeper meaning and appreciate stories that tackle life’s more complex questions, especially relevant for military teens balancing independence with family responsibilities during deployments. Research published in Science shows that reading literary fiction improves Theory of Mind, the ability to understand others’ mental states. It is crucial for older teens who are developing their identities while part of a military family with its unique culture and demands. Older teens can still benefit from reading connections with deployed parents, focusing on more mature themes that prompt meaningful discussions.
Recommended books:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky offers a raw and relatable look at depression, trauma, and healing through the eyes of a high school freshman—themes that resonate with many military teens navigating complex emotions.
• Choices: The True Story of One Family’s Daring Escape to Freedom by J.E. Laufer recounts the author’s family’s courageous flight from communist Hungary, navigating themes of sacrifice and resilience that many military families understand intimately.
• An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi tackles cultural identity development. This theme resonates deeply with military teens who develop unique identities shaped by their mobile lifestyle and service-oriented family culture.

Benefits for Service Members

While United Through Reading focuses on children from infancy through age 18, the emotional wellness benefits extend to the service members who create the recordings. Reading aloud and creating these video moments becomes a powerful emotional wellness tool for adults separated from their loved ones. A 2021 study in the Military Medicine journal found that service members who maintained regular, meaningful communication with their children during deployment reported lower rates of deployment-related stress and fewer symptoms of depression. Reading aloud’s structured, positive nature provides an ideal format for this wellness-promoting connection. When service members record themselves reading stories for their children, they support their children’s emotional health and nurture their own.

Emotional Benefits for Service Members:

• Maintaining parental identity – Recording stories helps deployed parents maintain their role and identity as active parents despite physical separation.
• Processing emotions through stories – Many service members report that reading emotional stories aloud helps them process their own feelings about missing important moments at home.
• Reducing deployment stress – Creating UTR recordings gives service members a sense of purpose and connection, which research shows can reduce stress and anxiety during deployments.

Join United Through Reading’s Mission

Reading is a vital tool for emotional recognition, development, and wellness for children and the adults who care for them. Through United Through Reading’s programs, military families can leverage the power of stories to maintain emotional connections despite physical separation. 99% of families report that UTR helps ease the stress of duty-related time apart. Engaging with age-appropriate books through our recording program empowers military families to learn, feel, heal, and grow together, even when apart. Download the UTR app today to start recording stories for your military child.

Our literacy tips are brought to you by the Reader’s Digest Foundation.