This month is all about celebrating the children in our military community. We purple up and give them little treats to help celebrate, but sometimes what they need the most is our understanding. These children go through a lot!
As a spouse, you fall in love with your soldier and chose to stand by their side no matter what. Military children are born into this lifestyle and adapt to being a child of a soldier without a choice. These children go through different circumstances and learn how to cope with constant change in their life. It’s impressive. They grow into these amazing, strong, independent little people and stand proud by their soldiers’ side through everything.
This week, we want to give you a little piece of their hearts and share with you what being a military child means to them.
Riley, age 6
“Being a military child is hard work because all I care about is my family and when daddy is gone it is really hard for us. It is hard because we must do our chores and mommy has to do the laundry by herself. I wish my daddy did not have to go anywhere.”
Anna, age 10
“Being a military child is hard. It’s hard because I have to move around a lot and there are times when my dad is gone for months or even a year. I also have to make new friends everywhere I go, leaving behind friends I just made. But there are good things too. I get to see the world, different places, and animals. For example, I lived in Hawaii for 3 years and most people don’t get a chance to even visit. Being a military kid can be awesome too.”
Ethan, age 7
“Being a military child to me is boring. We can’t play games together. I love when my daddy tickles and plays roly-ploy with us. Roly-poly is when daddy rolls around the trampoline and if he catches us he tickles us and it’s so much fun. Daddy has to miss all the shows that we watch and can’t do family movie nights and eat pizza with us. I am proud of him and mad at him when he leaves me.”
Emily, age 9
“It is hard being a military child because one of your family members leaves for a year. I sometimes wish I could snap my fingers and BOOM my Dad is here, but that is not how it works. I know it is hard on my parent but my mom makes it easy for us. It can be hard because we are not a complete family without my dad home, especially on family movie night! Well, without my dad here, it is not family movie night to me at all. I miss him so much while he is gone and life is hard without him home.”
Caden, age 12
“To be a military child is like sacrificing time for the safety of everyone and our country. My dad helps others and brings peace and equality to all. I miss him a lot but I am proud of him.”
Kennedy, age 8
“Being a military child is fun but is a family member is deployed they may miss out on a lot. Its also sad to see them leave. You miss them alot. If there’s a program and you want them to be there he can’t because they’re deployed, but when it does happen I like to think my Dad is working hard for me and my family. But when my Dad does come back we get to do a lot of fun things together.”
Ty, age 13
“Being in a military family is different but still fun. I say this because even though they have to work all the time, they do it for us and everybody else in this country. They go overseas to stop people that are or are potentially dangerous so we can live normal lives. Even at my school kids will walk up to me and ask stuff, like what does your dad do? In conclusion, this is what its like being in a military family.”
Jacob, age 11
“Being a military child can be fun. There are fun opportunities like the SCNG Youth Camp every summer, but I miss my dad and love him.”
Kayla, age 14
“What being a military child means to me is that there’s a lot of moving involved. It also means to me that there is a lot of opportunities to meet new people. It’s tough at times to leave old homes, but it’s okay because I get to meet new people. So being a military child to me means that we are always on the move.”
Jemma, age 10 “As a military child you get to move a lot. But that means you also get to go to a new school and make tons of new friends. Also some of the places your parents might work at will do fun things for the holidays. My favorite is getting to explore the whole world, because you can live in places like Germany, and travel to Paris. See history in person that you learn about in school. You learn what its like to have your dad gone for a long period of time, and be really excited for when he comes home. I am really proud to be a military kid, and getting to do and see the things I have. My dad helps protect this country, and I am very proud of him for that.”
Alex, age 12
“Being a military child I been moving my whole life because of the military. My dad is not home a lot of the time so its just my mom.”
Madison, age 10
“Being a military child is not very easy. One thing that really gets me is my father always misses our birthdays. He even misses a lot of holidays and it’s not always easy keeping it together. My dad has probably only seen my brother for 6 months in person in his whole entire life. My dad has left a thousand times. One of the hardest deployments I’ve been through is this one. I am going through it right now. And something that makes it even harder is that I just had to move away from all my best friends and he just got back from a deployment. The good thing about moving is that you get to see new places and meet new friends! Being a military child is also very stressing and not all people that are not military children understand that. I always hope my dad is safe and then think I’m so unlucky everyone has their dad and I don’t but that is not the truth! But over the years I’ve actually realized I’m so lucky to have a dad like mine one who protects the country and that is such a good man. He’s a really good listener and I love talking to him. I try to stay positive and keep a smile and I hope others do the same because we all are really strong and brave!”
If you were able to read this blog to this point, I know that you are in tears. I am! It was hard for me as a mother of four to read some of these children’s thoughts. As you see, these children have so many different emotions and go through a lot, but one thing is for sure… they stand strong and proud of their soldier! Bonded through love and making the best of the life they were born into. After this reading this, we hope that you have a little more understanding and compassion for these children’s lifestyle and how they become who they are. Written by Kim Clagg (Board President) and some sweet military kids!