When Sabrina Stephens talks to her father, she talks to a life-sized cardboard cutout of a man in a military outfit. It's her "Flat Daddy" - a cutout to help young children deal with separation anxiety when their parents serve away from home. It's also the title of a documentary screening at the Las Vegas Film Festival.
Flat Daddy explores the stories of how kids adjust when their parents leave for war, how spouses adapt to parenting alone, and what happens when the real parent comes home... or never does. How do children bond with a cardboard cutout? How do they readjust when the real parent comes home? And how does that parent reintegrate into the family unit when he's been away so long? We talk to the filmmakers and experts. Are you a military family? Share your stories with us below.
GUESTS
Betsy Nagler, filmmaker, Flat Daddy
Nara Garber, filmmaker, Flat Daddy
Marian Vance, mother of deceased veteran
Howard Markman, PhD, Prof of Psych and Co-Dir, Ctr for Marital and Family Studies