The Importance Of Having A Sibling In The Military

A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children from military families have a higher risk of social, emotional and behavioral problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide ideation. Other reports have shown that military families also have a high rates of domestic violence, child abuse and spousal abuse. The immense strains and pressures of the military lifestyle create inconsistencies in the lives of military families that are often overlooked by those considering joining the military. Over the years the U.S government and other organizations have been doing ample research into family health in the military and effectively identifying and addressing critical issues that are faced by military families. Speaking from

The authors concluded that the shorter that dwell time, the harder it is for military families to maintain a stable relationship. The authors also provided helpful information on family support and how stress factors can be reduced when military families come across deployment.

Throughout many years, military deployment has affected the family system. Especially young children are effected by their parents shipping overseas since they are still are trying to figure out how to cope without guidance during their development into adult years. In this particular study, researchers examined adolescents between the ages of 12-18 to determine their thoughts about their parents going into war. More specifically, researchers wanted to study the children’s experiences with ambiguous loss within their military families. Researchers hope to find ways in prevention and intervention in order to reduce the feeling of uncertainty within adolescents.

Not many people in society can empathize with those who have been in a war and have experienced war firsthand. Society is unaware that many individuals are taken away from their families to risk their lives serving in the war. Because of this, families are left to wonder if they will ever get to see their sons and daughters again. In a war, young men are taken away from their loved ones without a promise that they will get to see them again. The survivors come back with frightening memories of their traumatic experiences. Although some would argue that war affects families the most, authors, Tim O’Brien and Kenneth W. Bagby are able to convey the idea that war can negatively impact one’s self by causing this person long lasting emotional

The framework expresses helping children deal with ambiguous losses including children whose family member has been deployed (Konrad, pg. 243). One of the ways to deal with loss is to find meaning in what has happened.

Long absences can very often lead to complications in marriages and in relationships with children. Soldiers can miss very important moments because of a war, such as holidays and birthdays. The parent who is not at war also has to take on all of the responsibilities for home, children, and finance while their significant other is deployed. In addition to this, the parent who is left behind often finds themselves dealing with a change in behavior from their children, which is very likely a result from their other parent’s long absence. Many returning veterans blame the complications in their lives after their life in the military on their time deployed. It may seem insignificant, but this is a big reason why military force has an impact on the everyday lives of Americans who do not even serve for a military branch.

As we look at the over, arching aspect of family implications, the most common aspect associated to this is the number of service member deaths. By the numbers alone, those killed in conjunction to the operations of the past 14 years do not hold a candle to the sheer numbers of World Wars I and II, Korea, or Vietnam. We must look past these numbers and look at all injuries, which will then significantly increase the casualty numbers. Many of the millions of wounded warriors resulting of their service, both the physical and emotional trauma, will affect them for the rest of their lives. (Morin, 2011) With casualty rates today we can no longer only look at the service members themselves, the burdens and joys of life continue even in their absence. Now, in today’s families, the decision to serve, or the continuation of service affect everyone within the household.

There is a large amount of military families around the world. About Forty- three percent of active military members have children (Website). These children face so many challenges and struggles in their life while having a parent in the military. Children of Active duty military members exhibit anxiety, depression and stress just as much as the service members and spouses experience. For instance the children experience going through multiple deployments, long separations, frequent moves and awkward reunions when their parents return home from deployment. Even more so if the parent has been physically or mentally traumatized from overseas.

I was seven when my Uncle Jeff deployed to Afghanistan for the first time. My aunt returned from an assignment in Japan deeply worried for my uncle. Being a vehicle operations specialist, my uncle led a convoy and would be the first affected

One thing that all military installations offer to families is a mock deployment line. A mock deployment line is a wonderful thing for a child to experience. During a mock deployment line, the child will go through all of the steps their parent does when preparing to deploy. It cannot be stressed enough to parents the importance of informing their children’s caregivers and teachers that a parent will be deploying. Doing so is a vital step in helping the child cope with the upcoming separation. The child’s teacher, once informed of an upcoming deployment will help the child cope by incorporating activities such as reading books where a family member is taking a long trip, or talking with all the children about how they feel and why they feel the way they do into their lesson plans. Parents need to make sure they do not put off telling children of the deployment, letting their children know about the deployment as soon as possible will provide them the opportunity to become involved in preparing for the separation. Children will want to have many conversations with their parents about the deployment; parents need to make sure that they keep the discussions honest, straightforward, and factual (Clash, 2008).

Behavioral, emotional and mental problems all result from these situations and different age groups respond differently to all these types of effects. Toddlers and young children act very differently than adolescents and teens. They have various types of behaviors that they exhibit such as fits of anger and temper tantrums. Adults have a different set of emotional reactions. They do not normally exhibit the same types of emotional instabilities but instead are faced with increased challenged such as financial instability, isolation, feelings of being overwhelmed, and an intense fear for the safety of the deployed family member. They also must maintain their composure in front of their children and family in order to uphold the emotional stability to have the family keep theirs as well. For the deployed person, the separation can become a primary motivator for them and it is something that they can fight for and believe in. Family becomes the main reason to fight to come home. Military deployment becomes a large problem for some people to cope with. It creates a range of troubling emotional and financial effects on a family that can change the way they function as a household and a group. Children, being especially susceptible to emotional stress and instability compared to adults, have different types

“A common saying in the military is that when one person joins, the whole family serves” (Alfano, 2016, p. ).

When a parent is deployed to serve at war, a child faces many hardships in his well-being. The main problem is that early children face many social, emotional, and physical problems when a parent goes to war and returns with a health issue. Children under age of five are developing negative behaviors, for example Home Front Alert: The Risk Facing Young Children In Military Families states that “children in military families with a deployed parent may experience stress, anxiety, and difficult coping, as well as academic problems” (Murphey, 2013, p. 4). This reveals that absent parents are not fulfilling the child’s cognitive needs, which plays an important in their health. Thus, children

My son-in-law, Bill, served a tour in Iraq. His deployment was very hard for him having only been married to my daughter for about two years. They had a son that was about six months old when he left for Texas to begin his training

War creates stress on them and everyone is affected when a family member gets deployed into the military. It's like the domino effect once one falls the rest start to tumble after and at the end all you see is a mess. War presents real threats that can cause additional anxiety for parents. The possibility of losing a child or more if more than one got deployed is unfathomable to the parents. For the spouses whoever remain behind they must take on full responsibility for the household, the family and must fulfill the roles of both father and mother while the other parent is gone. They also have to reassure his or her spouse’s parents and children, while dealing with his or her own anxiety. Finally how the children are affected. They face long periods of time without a parent. They miss the birth of a child, not meeting the child until many months later. While some children can bring both parents to school events, a child in a military family may bring mom, dad, grandpa, uncle, or a friend as a substitute for the deployed family member. They also may act out at home or school; often the misbehavior is a result of uncertainty or loneliness