New free resources help Armed Forces families talk about injury and PTSD

Understanding Injury Resources

The Ripple Pond has launched Understanding Injury, a collection of free, age-appropriate resources designed to help families talk with children about injury and PTSD when a parent or family member has been affected by their military service.

When a parent or family member is living with an injury or trauma linked to their military service, the impact can reach across the whole family.

Children may notice changes in how someone feels, behaves or responds to everyday situations. They may have questions, worries or their own explanations for what is happening. Parents want to help them understand, but finding the right words, knowing when to start a conversation or deciding how much to explain can feel difficult.

There isn't one right way to have these conversations. Every family is different, and what a child needs to understand will change as they grow.

That's why The Ripple Pond has developed Understanding Injury, a collection of free resources to help families explore these subjects together, at their own pace and in ways that feel right for them.

Helping families find a starting point

Understanding Injury was developed through The Ripple Pond's Family Focus Project, bringing together the experiences of Members with specialist professional knowledge, including input from a clinical psychologist and a social worker.

Lived experience was central to the work. Families understand first-hand how difficult it can be to explain changes in a loved one, particularly when injury or trauma affects family life in ways that can be hard to put into words.

The project was shaped by the understanding that families need more than information alone. They need practical ways to begin conversations, language they can adapt to their own circumstances and reassurance that they don't have to get everything right at once.

The resources aren't a set of instructions or a script that every family should follow. Instead, they offer choices and starting points, helping parents and children build understanding together.

What's included in the Understanding Injury resources?

The collection includes:

• Age-appropriate resources: materials designed for different stages of childhood, recognising that children understand and respond to experiences differently as they grow.

• Conversation prompts and suggested wording: practical starting points for parents who aren't sure how to explain what's happening or respond to a child's questions.

• Follow-up resources: ways to continue conversations and build understanding over time.

• Accompanying videos: dedicated videos for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 to support families as they explore injury and PTSD.
  

The resources cover physical and psychological injury, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in the context of injury or trauma linked to service in the British Armed Forces.

Families might use a suggested phrase to begin a conversation, explore an activity together, watch a video or simply keep the materials available for when a question arises naturally. There is no expectation that every resource will suit every family.

The aim isn't to create one perfect conversation. It's to make difficult conversations feel a little more manageable, helping children develop their own understanding while giving parents practical support along the way.

Making support accessible to more families

The Understanding Injury resources have been available to The Ripple Pond Members and partners. They are now being made freely available to the wider public, so families and professionals can access and share them wherever they may be helpful.

The project has been funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, whose support has helped The Ripple Pond bring together lived experience and specialist expertise to develop this collection.

Rodger, CEO of The Ripple Pond, said:

“Families living with the effects of military injury often find themselves dealing with circumstances they never expected or prepared for. We can't change those circumstances, but we can help families understand and manage them together.”

Making these resources freely available is one way of helping families find practical support, without having to know in advance what to ask for or where to begin.

Explore the free resources

The Understanding Injury resources are available now for families and professionals supporting Armed Forces families.

Explore the Understanding Injury resources

The Ripple Pond supports adult family members, loved ones and chosen family of serving personnel and veterans living with service-attributable injury or trauma. Alongside resources such as Understanding Injury, we offer peer support, wellbeing activities, workshops, information and practical guidance.

Because when military injury affects one person, the family can be affected too. Families deserve to be recognised, understood and supported in their own right.

With grateful thanks to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust for funding this project.