Resilient is a word that is often used to describe military children because of their ability to withstand the adverse situations of the military lifestyle. “Adapt and overcome” is a mantra that speaks to their resilience and encourages perseverance and grit. April is the Month of the Military Child, to acknowledge the sacrifice of military children. Military children deal with frequent moves, separation, uncertainty, deployments, and commonly being the new student. A few of our mom bloggers who are also military spouses asked their children a few questions to share their experience.
Charlotte (6) is the daughter of our mom blogger Colleen, and her dad is in the Navy. She has experienced three deployments in her 6 years, with the first being two and a half weeks after she was born. She is still missing her first best friend after moving from Hawaii and she is currently experiencing weekly duty days that cause her dad to miss life events and family dinners. Charlotte isn’t sure about the hardest part of being a military child, but she thinks the coolest thing is that her dad was over the Mariana Trench. She wants other military children to know that she feels the same way that you do sometimes.
Kayleigh (11), Kayana (9) and Jayden (5) are the children of our mom blogger Victoria and their dad is a Marine. They have moved four times, including a three-year tour in Japan, causing them to leave established friendships. Their dad was a Marine Corps recruiter for 3.5 years which caused him to miss a lot of pivotal moments in their life. They believe that frequent moves are the hardest part of being a military child. However, they enjoy living in and exploring new places and appreciate that they are experienced travelers. They encourage other military children that are facing challenges to use technology to stay connected with friends and family, enjoy the special moments, and send care packages when your service member is away.
Brianna (7), is the daughter of our mom blogger Tia, and her dad is in the Navy. Brianna has endured a deployment, her dad attending a 9-month advanced training school (C School), and a permanent change of station (PCS) four times. Brianna finds the frequent moves difficult because she has to leave her best friends behind. She finds encouragement in knowing that she has the opportunity to make new friends when she moves. Her advice to other military children who have to leave their best friends is to ensure that your parents get their number and maintain contact through phone calls. Brianna wants you to know that her dad is special because he helps people that are sick as a Navy Corpsman.
Military children say more goodbyes in their formative years than many say in their life. Instead of focusing on the friends that they left behind, they have chosen to anticipate the new friendships and stay connected to established friendships.
How can you celebrate the Month of the Military Child?
Purple Up With Us! Purple is the color that is used to represent all branches of the military. Wear purple to recognize military children. Share your pictures with the hashtag #SDmomsblogpurpleup
- Encourage your children to extend their kindness and friendship to new students
- Share their story! Share this blog post with your friends and ask them to join you and Purple Up as well
- Make time to maintain the connection with military children that moved away from your child
- Connect with military families in your area
