ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – April is the Month of the Military Child, which recognizes the challenges children of service members often encounter.
Faced with long separations and frequent moves, military kids often encounter unique challenges.
“Military kids are so strong, they’re so resilient,” said CEO of the National Military Family Association (NMFA), Besa Pinchotti. “But that resilience isn’t automatic. It comes from these challenges that happen over and over and over again.”
Active-duty families move every two to three years on average, according to the Department of Defense.
Pinchotti said those moves often can lead to feelings of isolation. An NMFA mental health survey of military youth found that nearly 40% of respondents fell into the “low” category, far higher than their civilian counterparts.
“You’re continuously moving away from your family, from your support systems,” she explained. “So you’re rebuilding those over and over and over again. And as soon as they’re built, it’s time to pick up and leave again.”
During Month of the Military Child, Pinchotti encourages people to recognize these youth, as “military kids serve too.”
“[They are] in your kids’ classrooms and on their sports teams and in your neighborhood for short periods of time usually, and you don’t even realize the big job that they’re doing for our country,” she said. “It’s a time for all of America to pause. Take a break from thinking about the military as just the uniform, and really focus on those kids.”
NMFA offers “Operation Purple Camp” sleep-away programs for free to military youth in Alaska and across the country.
At camp, kids ages 6 to 17 are able to connect with others who understand the challenges of military life and build on personal skills such as resilience and confidence.
Outside of camp, Pinchotti said there are simple ways civilians can help support military youth, too.
“One of the biggest things you can do is recognize and just honestly celebrate what they do,” she explained. “The more that you know your community and you know the people around you, you’re able to help them in all kinds of different ways because so often a service member isn’t there.”
For more information about NMFA’s “Operation Purple Camp,” click here.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
发表回复