Meredith Cummings, 5, center, finishes up her broccoli while sitting near an enlarged Flat

Erricka Faith, 2, left, watches as her mother, Linda Faith, Ozawkie, holds Erricka's twin brother, Tres, up to kiss an enlarged photo - a Flat Daddy - of Faith's husband and the children's father, Richard Faith, a private first class in the Kansas National Guard with the 108th Aviation Regiment out of Topeka. Richard Faith has been deployed in Iraq for most of the last two years.

No one can take the place of a father – his smile, warm hugs and words of wisdom.

When fathers’ military service takes them overseas, their absences can be extremely difficult for children, especially for toddlers who may forget who dad is or even what he looks like.

That’s where Flat Daddies come in. They are life-size photos of fathers from the waist up. There also are Flat Mommies.

“It helps children by giving them an interactive way to keep dad or mom in their everyday lives while apart,” said Elaine Dumler, an author and creator of the concept. “It’s known that young children need visual stimulus for learning, and that’s what the Flat Daddy does. So it’s certainly not taking the place of a parent, it’s acting as a bookmark in their absence.”

Laura Cummings, of Manhattan, Kan., ordered one shortly after her husband, Maj. Brent Cummings, was deployed to Iraq last January for a 15-month tour. The couple have two daughters, Emily, 8, and Meredith, 5. Laura Cummings said they were particularly concerned about Meredith’s reaction to her father’s absence because she has Down syndrome.

“We were worried that she wouldn’t remember him. I thought it would be a good way to see him every day,” she said.

Flat Daddy watches over the girls every night.

“She (Meredith) will blow him a kiss from bed,” Laura Cummings said.

Part of the family

Laura Cummings and her daughters like to include Flat Daddy in family activities. Not only does Brent’s alter ego sit at the dinner table but also it has been to a Kansas State University football game wearing Brent’s KSU hat and T-shirt. It also rides along in the car, eliciting second glances from passersby.

“It adds a little bit of a sense of humor to the situation, which I think sometimes is the best way to cope with something that’s stressful for the family,” Laura Cummings said.

Her husband agrees. He looks forward to receiving e-mails that contain pictures of Flat Daddy and learning what he has been up to.

“I laugh when I open it up and show it to the guys I work with,” he said. “It’s a way to maintain some sanity.”

Brent Cummings said he was particularly sad about missing this fall’s Kansas City Buddy Walk, a fundraiser that promotes acceptance and inclusion of those with Down syndrome. He said the family had participated in a Buddy Walk for the past five years.

“It’s a big deal for the family,” he said.

While he couldn’t be there, Flat Daddy was.

“I got a picture kind of like what I had last year,” Brent Cummings said. “Instead of me holding Meredith, it’s Meredith and the family with Arrowhead Stadium behind us and Flat Daddy with my Buddy Walk T-shirt on this time.”

Brent admits that he is jealous of the time that Flat Daddy spends with his family and happily put him in a corner while he was home earlier this month.

Now, Flat Daddy’s out of exile and back to work.

“It’s one way for them to get through it and then it helps me get through it, too, by seeing pictures of them, and it just stimulates us all with the different activity,” Brent said.

The Cummingses are just one of about 3,000 people who have a Flat Daddy, said Shari Segovia, account coordinator for Ohio-based SFC Graphics, which has been producing them for free since October 2006. About 325 have been sent to Kansas.

The company charges $10 for shipping and raises money to help offset production costs.

Day care’s surprise

After hearing about Flat Daddies and researching them online, Jessica McCarty, of Fort Riley, ordered five for the children in her day care who had parents overseas. She thought 3-year-old Aydon Kerr would really benefit because he started attending her day care shortly after his dad, Pfc. Colin Kerr, was deployed for a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. McCarty said Aydon was having a difficult time adjusting.

“He likes to tell all of the kids about his dad,” she said.

So, she surprised Aydon and his mom, Myka, with a Flat Daddy. It isn’t an ordinary one; it is a picture of the threesome that Colin Kerr took by extending his arm during his deployment ceremony. It is one of Myka’s favorite pictures. The Flat Daddy also contains a message from Colin that says how proud he is of the family.

Myka said the Flat Daddy couldn’t have come at a better time; she hadn’t been able to talk to her husband by e-mail for a couple of weeks.

“I broke down,” she said of seeing it for the first time. “I just needed to see him and that was just so perfect. It was this huge picture and a message from him.”

And, of course, Aydon loves it. The picture hangs above his bed.

“It has kiss marks all over it because every night we say our prayers and kiss Dad good night. It’s just really cool,” Myka said. “It’s been a blessing.”

When people come to visit at their Manhattan home, Aydon likes to show off his dad. His mom said she catches Aydon talking to the Flat Daddy sometimes.

“It’s hard to explain to a 3-year-old where he’s at. He knows Daddy is gone and fighting the bad guys and keeping them away from us,” she said.

Linda Faith understands. The Ozawkie resident has 2-year-old twins who have only been around their father, Pfc. Richard Faith, for seven months of their lives because he is serving in Iraq. She ordered a Flat Daddy to keep Errika and Tres acquainted with their father. His picture hangs above a rocking chair in their room where they kiss him good morning and good night.

“I’ve caught my son a couple of times sitting in there and he’s reading a story to Daddy. He will have a storybook and he will be sitting in the chair reading” she said. “And every once in awhile, if he gets something new he will go in and say, ‘Look, Daddy.'”

She just wishes her husband could see such precious moments, as does her husband.

“It’s tough to be away from family,” he said.