Parenting Programs | Soldier On Australia

Soldier On is delivering a new family program for veteran parents across Australia.

We are delivering a number of different evidence-based programs designed to help foster connections with your children across the lifespan, the group programs are also an opportunity for you to hear how other veteran families have managed the challenges that come with raising a family and remaining connected as a family.

This program is being delivered across Australia via telehealth services. To register your interest please get in touch via email psychology@soldieron.org.au or call 1300 620 380.

This project received grant funding from the Australian Government.

Programs

Tuning into Kids (TIK)

Tuning into Kids is an eight-week online parenting program designed to give you clear, practical strategies for supporting your child’s emotions and behaviour. Each session runs for two hours and offers structured, step-by-step learning that feels more like a guided classroom environment than a therapy group. Many veterans and family members appreciate this format because it is straightforward, predictable, and focused on concrete skills.

TIK is centred on psychological education — understanding why children have big feelings, what those feelings communicate, and how parents can respond in ways that build connection rather than conflict. You will learn specific emotion-coaching strategies that you can begin using at home straight away. The focus is on learning “what to do” and “what to say” when emotions run high.

For many veterans, tuning in to emotions — your child’s or your own — can be challenging. Years of training, operational demands, and learned emotional toughness can make it difficult to notice the subtler emotional cues in children. TIK doesn’t assume that you already recognise these cues; instead, it offers simple starting points and a shared language for understanding children’s emotional experiences.

Across the eight weeks, you may start to learn how to:

Understand the purpose behind children’s emotional reactions
Support your child during moments of frustration, anger, sadness, or overwhelm
Use emotion coaching to guide behaviour in a calm and connected way
Develop your own emotional awareness at a pace that feels safe and achievable
Build a stronger foundation for trust, connection, and resilience in your family

Sessions combine videos, structured exercises, and guided discussions. You will never be pressured to share personal information — participating at your own comfort level is completely okay. Many parents, however, find it helpful to hear from others navigating similar challenges within Defence and veteran life.

Tuning into Kids is a clear, skills-focused program that offers practical tools and a solid grounding in emotional literacy. It’s a gentle starting point for parents who want to support their child’s emotional world but may feel unsure about where or how to begin.

Tuning into Teens (TINT)

adolescents as they navigate the emotional and relational challenges of the teenage years. Each session runs for two hours and offers a structured, classroom-style environment focused on practical skills and psychological education. Many veteran families appreciate the predictability and clarity of this format, especially during a stage of parenting that can feel uncertain, reactive, or emotionally charged.

TINT builds on the core principles of emotion coaching and adapts them for the teenage years — a period when young people are seeking more independence, expressing emotions in more complex ways, and sometimes pushing back against limits or connection. The program gives you a shared language for emotions, a clearer understanding of what might be driving your teen’s behaviour, and concrete tools for staying connected even when communication becomes strained.

For many veterans, tuning in to emotional signals — especially the subtle or rapidly shifting emotions common in adolescents — can feel unfamiliar or difficult. Training, operational demands, and the culture of emotional toughness can make it harder to work out what’s going on beneath the surface. TINT doesn’t assume you already feel confident in this area; rather, it provides clear starting points, relatable examples, and step-by-step strategies to help you understand and support your teen’s emotional world.

Across the eight weeks, you will learn how to:

Recognise and respond to the more complex emotional expressions common in adolescence
Support your teen during moments of anger, withdrawal, overwhelm, or defiance
Stay calm and steady during conflict and emotionally charged moments
Communicate in ways that reduce escalation and strengthen trust
Maintain connection while still providing guidance, boundaries, and structure

Sessions include videos, structured exercises, and group discussions. You are always free to participate in a way that feels comfortable, and there is no expectation to share personal stories. Many parents, however, find it grounding to hear from others — especially those with lived experience of Defence and veteran life — who are navigating similar challenges.

Tuning into Teens is a practical, skills-focused program that gives you tools you can apply right away. It offers clear guidance and emotional starting points to help you stay connected with your teenager, even during the more turbulent moments of growing up.

Circle of Security (COS)

The Circle of Security program is for any parent or carer of a child aged 4 months to 6 years who wants to better understand their child, strengthen their bond, and feel more confident in how they respond to big emotions and everyday challenges. The program is delivered online over six to eight weeks, making it accessible no matter where you are.

COS is a reflective, relationship-based parenting group. Rather than giving you a list of “rules” or telling you the “right way” to parent, it offers a simple, research-based framework to help you make sense of what your child needs from you. You’ll learn about attachment security — the lifelong balance between independence and connection. When children feel safe to explore the world and also safe to come back to us for comfort, they build resilience, trust, and healthy relationships across their life.

In this program, you’ll learn how to recognise and respond to your child’s needs using the Circle of Security map. It helps you understand when your child needs closeness, when they need space, and how to guide them in a way that is “good enough” — not perfect. COS is practical, relatable, and designed to help you feel more grounded and connected as a parent.

Each session includes videos, guided reflection, and group discussion. This isn’t a passive lecture — it’s a chance to slow down and think deeply about your child and your role in their emotional world. You’ll also be invited to reflect on your own experience growing up and how that might shape the way you parent today. You will never be pressured to share anything personal, but many parents tell us that hearing from others — especially other veterans and families who understand the pressures of military life — helps them feel less alone and more supported.

COS is a warm, non-judgmental space where you can explore, learn, and build confidence in your parenting — with the support of trained facilitators who understand the unique challenges that veterans and families often face

Lighthouse

The Lighthouse Parenting Program is designed for parents and carers of children of any age. It is delivered online over three to six months and includes both individual therapy sessions and group-based support. The purpose of this program is simple: to help you see your child more clearly, strengthen your connection, and rebuild your natural capacity to pause, reflect, and understand what is happening in your relationships.At the heart of Lighthouse is reflective practice — learning to see yourself from the outside (how others might experience you) and see others from the inside (imagining what might be going on in someone else’s mind and emotions). When someone genuinely tries to understand us, we feel recognised, believed, and valued. And feeling seen is deeply stabilising. It also enables us to trust and learn.If you’ve experienced adversity growing up — including conflict, instability, or strained family relationships — parenting and life can sometimes bring old “ghosts” and “wolves” to the surface. These past experiences can blur how we see ourselves and our children. Lighthouse helps bring those silhouettes into focus, creating more clarity, compassion, and confidence in how you relate to yourself and the people who matter most to you.Throughout the program, facilitators will guide you through ideas, images, and videos designed to spark reflection and conversation. This is not light work and it can take people into deep waters. This is why we offer individual sessions along side the group. You’ll be invited to explore your own experiences and consider how they shape your emotional responses today. Even when you think you are shut of and don’t have emotional responses. Sharing is always optional — you will never be pushed to speak if you don’t want to or don’t have anything to say — but many people find the group discussions encouraging and grounding.Parents have told us this program helps them:

Make sense of their child’s confusing behaviours and strong emotions
Strengthen and stabilise their relationships
Build a deeper understanding of both their child and themselves
Some have found it transformative and life changing
Some have found that it reduces their PTSD symptoms

Lighthouse is an emotionally safe, supportive, non-judgmental space where you can slow down, reflect, and reconnect with the parent you want to be.

Get in touch

For more information or to register your interest, please email psychology@soldieron.org.au or call 1300 620 380.