Careful planning and healthy introspection about one's actions and reactions can make that family experience even better. An overseas assignment is the time to be more available to your child. There will be more questions, more issues, more reactions. A parent needs to be there more of the time, not less. If the father is working all the time or away, be sure to schedule family time together.
Evening meals are a great place for families to exchange the news of the day.
But if daddy is stuck at the office or out with clients all the time, the meal is eaten on the fly. So plan a family outing, a family meeting, or any other 'special' family time. Vacations are good, but don't occur often enough to sustain good and effective family communications. Take time to talk to each other. Don't let too much time pass between conversations or it will only make it harder to resume them.