Kids Find Way To Make Dad Serving Overseas Feel Like He's 'Always Home'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A military father-of-two deployed overseas has found a special way to stay close to his kids despite being over 6,000 miles away.
When Major Peter DeCrans deployed to Kuwait for 10 months, he knew staying connected with his wife and family back home in Forest Lake, Minnesota, would be tough, particularly for his two young children, Zerick, 7, and Petroula, 5.
Separation anxiety disorder, the clinical name for the extreme fear some kids experience when apart from a parent or caregiver, is a common issue in both young and older children.
The key advantage older children have over younger ones, however, according to Dr. Elesia Hines, a psychologist at Riley Children's Health, is the ability to express these concerns verbally.
Zerick, 7, and Petroula, 5, speak to their dad through their Ring doorbell camera.
Zerick, 7, and Petroula, 5, speak to their dad through their Ring doorbell camera.
Ring
Dr. Hines wrote in a post on the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health's website: "Older kids can verbalize a fear that something bad will happen to their parents or their caregiver, and it's important not to dismiss these fears. They may not say, 'I don't want to be away from you,' but it may show up as, 'I'm worried that if you go to work that something bad is going to happen to you on the way.'
"That cognitive piece is important because it's not just the behaviors we see in older kids, but actual thoughts that they can express."
Having someone to talk to about these feelings can be an effective way of addressing concerns head-on. Zerick and Petroula certainly had someone to talk to while their father was overseas: the man himself.
To help bridge the geographical distance between them and create a sounding board for his two kids, DeCran's wife Cierra installed a Ring Video Doorbell at their home.
Originally, the chief driver behind setting up the camera had been so DeCrans could keep a close eye on his home and family.
However, once the Ring device was installed, it soon took on a different role for Zerick and Petroula, providing the family with a much-needed "emotional lifeline."
In the months that followed, Zerick and Petroula used the doorbell almost daily to send their dad videos about their lives.
He got updates from Petroula about how school was doing, while Zerick was eager to tell his dad about new bike-riding skills.
Footage of just a handful of these exchanged was shared with Newsweek by Ring and makes for heartwarming viewing.
The siblings' love and adoration of their dad is plain to see, as is the positive impact the Ring doorbell had on them.
Cierra told Ring: "You could just tell that it helped them deal with the deployment. They just knew that [their dad] was going to be on the other end."
The kids were not the only ones enjoying the camera either. For DeCrans, seeing moments like his daughter in a princess dress on her birthday or the neighbor's kids selling cookies brought comfort.
"Ring definitely made me feel like I was always home," DeCrans said. "With a simple tap at the doorbell, my family found an easy, meaningful way to stay connected despite being thousands of miles apart."
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