Official: Take Time to Honor Military Kids’ Service

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2012  – Each April, Americans pause to recognize the nation’s 1.8 million military children during the Month of the Military Child.

“It’s really important to recognize that military children also serve,” Barbara Thompson, director of military community and family policy, children and youth, told the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.

While frequent moves and school transitions can be challenging, Thompson said she believes the most challenging endeavor a military child has to endure is a parental separation due to deployment.

“While we’ve made great strides with technology and Skype … it’s not the same as having your mom or dad at your baseball game or high school graduation or one of your birthday parties,” she said.

These separations can have a “serious impact” on military families’ well-being, Thompson noted, particularly on the children. Younger children may experience separation and attachment issues, while older children may engage in risky behaviors, she explained.

Thompson noted a specific concern for children from Guard and Reserve families. These children, living in every community around the nation, may be lacking nearby support. A military child may be the only student in a school with a deployed parent, she said, and the school oftentimes isn’t even aware.

“School districts are key partners,” Thompson said. “That’s where 92 percent of our school-age kids are located. They need to know they have military children in their schools.”

To combat a sense of isolation, officials have posted information online to educate teachers, school administrators and parents on supporting military children.

The DOD also has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System to reach out to military children in communities, she said, noting 70 percent of military kids live off of installations.

Every American can help to support military families, said Thompson, and no effort is too small. A neighbor can help a parent with a deployed spouse by pitching in with a carpool, driving children to an extracurricular activity, or mowing a military families’ lawn.

Schools can set aside special days to honor military kids’ contributions, and communities can sponsor a play or picnic, or simply find the military families in their midst to thank them, Thompson said.

Taking care of military parents has a positive and direct impact on their kids, Thompson noted.

“It’s important to care for the stay-at-home parent with a deployed spouse,” she said. “They’re the first responders for these children. If the stay-at-home parent isn’t being nurtured, it’s very hard for him or her to nurture those children.”

“We know that it’s challenging to move every two to three years and uproot and make new friends and adjust to a new environment and a new community,” she acknowledged. “But those are also opportunities for growth and resilience, to learn very quickly how to make friends and adapt and be flexible.”

Thompson encouraged people to take time this month to honor military children for their sacrifices, whether it’s with an event or words of gratitude.

“One of the things that’s disconcerting is we know that 1 percent of our population is in uniform and is serving, and the other 99 percent of the country takes full benefit of that,” Thompson said. “As a community, we owe it to our children to honor them and to protect them.”