What advice do you have for a mother who is going to Basic? What should she tell her 3 year old?

- Record some bed time stories read by you for her
- explain that you are going to do so that you can make things better for the family, but you won't see her for a while. Anchor the date to something she'll understand like Christmas, a birthday, etc. explain that you will not be able to call or talk as much as you'd like, but you will be thinking about her everyday.
- pre buy some presents to "send to her". Your wife can parse them out over the time you are in basic/AIT.
- there is a company that makes Daddy/Mommy dolls with your image. There is a voice recorder to record your voice so she'll see and hear a piece of you. My daughters had them for my deployments.

Advice for you: focus on what you are doing. Do the job. Remember who you're doing this for. It will be through soon.

My daughter was 3 when I joined. I hope you have a good support system at home, that will make things 100% easier on you and your child. Write letters all the time, I don't know the phone policy in basic now (I got 3 phones calls the entire time I was in training) but if you can call do so. Also ask your wife to send you pictures you child may color or pictures of your child. I told mine that "Mommy was going to be gone for a little while to join the Army so I could give her a better life" She didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on and me being gone, but she was reminded every night that I loved her by my support system. Also when graduation comes around, be prepared for the ugly cry by you and her. My daughter was unsure about me in uniform the first time she saw me in it.

be ready to miss holidays and birthdays