While they enjoy many advantages, military kids negotiate multiple schools, relocations and repeated deployments growing up. In this photo by Joshua Armstrong, U.S. Air Force Emily Adams embraces a family member following graduation from Preparatory School for the United States Air Force Academy.
Colorado Springs, CO. (July 13, 2022). Military kids grow up fast, are resilient and adaptable, and enjoy many advantages. They are well-travelled, receive a good education and enjoy free health care, safe housing, and parents with steady incomes. They are, nevertheless, children and subject to the same emotional roller coaster as other kids.
While civilian youth navigate first dates, bullies and school gossips, military kids must also contend with frequent relocations and long periods of separation from a parent during multiple deployments. The impact of repeated, back-to-back deployments has been called the “Military Families Syndrome”, a term coined during the Viet Nam War to characterize the behavioral and psychological problems of children of deployed parents.
According to Dr. Michael Faran, a psychiatrist, retired colonel and chief of the Child, Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health Office at Army Medical Command, "Kids often experience more anxiety and some studies suggest about 30 percent of children will have difficulties as a result of deployment. Dr. Faran cited increased rates of depression and anxiety, a decrease in academic performance, and sometimes the use of use of drugs and alcohol as evidence of this phenomenon.
Experts say military kids often suffer from separation anxiety, depression, excessive worry, sleep problems, and other physical complaints both during deployments and after parents return home.
This is especially true for children whose parents come home from war with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, or who suffered a traumatic brain injury. For these children, multiple deployments mean family upheaval, personal chaos, and parents whose personalities change when they return home.
Children are like sponges, soaking up both the good and the bad in their parents’ attitudes. Military children are often confused when a returning parent suffering from PTSD becomes distant, distracted or even suddenly hostile for no apparent reason. Too often, these children blame themselves for the effects multiple deployments are having on their family life.
America’s armed forces are addressing these problems through a collaborative effort between primary care and psychiatry physicians at military bases to identify and help heal families in trouble.
Everyday Americans can do their part. Support Our Troops is a national charity dedicated to sustaining active-duty military and their families though our Care Package program. You can help by going to our secure site supportourtroops.org/donate today.
FAQs
Parental deployment can stir up a variety of emotions in children, ranging from fear and anxiety to anger and sadness. And it can lead to a variety of academic and behavioral challenges for children. So it's important for parents, caregivers, and other adults to recognize how military deployments affect children.
What are children who experience cumulative deployments of military members more likely to experience? ›
Children of deployed service members are more likely to have behavioral health problems than their same-aged peers. Common behavioral health conditions among military children include sleep problems, depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicidal ideation,7–10 which may differ by age, gender, and developmental level.
What are the long-term effects of being a military child? ›
Over time and after multiple deployments, resilience can wear thin. Emerging evidence suggests that military children struggle with more mental health and behavioral problems than their civilian counterparts, particularly at times of deployment.
How are the children of military service members impacted? ›
Children of military families often experience multiple stressors before and dur- ing their parent's deployment and when they come home. Without appropriate mental health support systems, children of military personnel may be at a significant disadvantage compared with their peers in non-military families.
What is the military brat syndrome? ›
The military brat lifestyle typically involves moving to new states or countries many times while growing up, as the child's military family is customarily transferred to new non-combat assignments; consequently, many military brats never have a home town.
How does growing up in a military family affect you? ›
Children who grow up in military families have unique experiences compared to their civilian peers. They move frequently, spend extended periods of time away from their parents during deployment and training periods, and get indirect exposure to war, conflict and violence, often at a young age.
What are the psychological effects of deployment? ›
Families face a number of challenges before, during, and after deployment. This emotional cycle of deployment begins when news of deployment is released to the family. It starts with a short period of strong emotions, such as fear and anger. As departure grows closer, a period of detachment and withdrawal may occur.
What is military family syndrome? ›
Experts say military kids often suffer from separation anxiety, depression, excessive worry, sleep problems, and other physical complaints both during deployments and after parents return home.
What are the psychological issues of military children? ›
Signs of anxiety - the most common disorder in military children - also include separation anxiety, fears for the health of the parent left at home, excessive worry, sleep problems and frequent physical complaints such as headaches or stomachaches.
What are the characteristics of a military brat? ›
Military children are often referred to as military BRATs. What people do not tend to often know is that BRAT is not used in a derogatory manner. BRAT is an acronym that stands for bravery, resilience, adaptability, and toughness. Because of their rough lifestyle, military children live up to each of those four words.
At the start of the separation, a child might experience a sense of abandonment, sleep problems, or emotional or behavior problems such as anger or disobedience. But these emotions are typical and temporary, and as the at-home caregiver, you can reduce them if the child is securely attached to you.
What are the psychological effects of war on child soldiers? ›
Child war survivors have to cope with repeated and thus cumulative effects of traumatic stress, exposure to combat, shelling and other life-threatening events, acts of abuse, such as tor- ture or rape, violent death of a parent or friend, witnessing family members being tortured or injured, separation from family, ...
How do deployments affect children? ›
Very young children may show fear or upset at being separated from their parent. Infants (twelve months and younger) may react to changes in their schedule, physical environment, or the caretaker's mood. They may be uninterested, refuse to eat, or even lose weight.
What are the two major issues facing military families? ›
These were the top concerns, in order:
- Health Care. ...
- Family Housing and Barracks. ...
- Permanent Change-of-Station Moves. ...
- Child Care. ...
- Spouse Employment.
Understanding the Challenges of Military Kids
Most military kids have to deal with the stress of leaving their home and regularly starting somewhere new. Frequent moves can upset the continuity of school life and affect a child's education.
What is the emotional cycle of deployment children? ›
During the emotional cycle of deployment their lives are literally turned upside down! A significant portion of stability in their family system has temporarily been disrupted resulting in increased levels of stress and potential separation anxiety.
What are the negative consequences of military deployment? ›
Positive consequences included making additional money, self-improvement, and time to think. Negative consequences included the military chain of command, being away from home, and deterioration of marital/significant other relation- ships. The number and duration of military deployments by U.S.
What to expect from a child who has a parent who is deployed? ›
No two kids will react to a parent's deployment in exactly the same way. Even within the same family, some kids are naturally even-keeled and resilient, while others are much more sensitive. Some voice their concerns out loud; others worry in silence. A child who's feeling anxiety may show it in subtle ways.
While they enjoy many advantages, military kids negotiate multiple schools, relocations and repeated deployments growing up. In this photo by Joshua Armstrong, U.S. Air Force Emily Adams embraces a family member following graduation from Preparatory School for the United States Air Force Academy.