April is the Month of the Military Child
By: Shannon Mason RECE – MFRC Child, Youth & Teen Coordinator
In the last 8 years I have spent nearly every day with military children, from infants to teens. I’ve been there for them through some of their toughest times. I’ve watched them deal with parents that leave for training, deployments and preparing to move the whole family to a new province or country. After spending all that time with a child, it’s heartbreaking to watch them move away and imagine what they must be going through? This is what makes a military child so unique; they face many of the same challenges as other children their age but with special conditions. Their family, one or both of their parents can be uprooted anywhere at any time. With all of the uncertainty and change these children experience, it is no wonder they are compared to dandelions that bloom where they are planted.
One of these children I am lucky enough to see every day is Ava (9yrs). I asked if she would share a little about what her experience is like as a military child…
S: “Can you tell me the places you have lived?”
A: “I have lived in Winnipeg, I have lived in Florida and I have lived here. (North Bay)”
S: “How many people in your family are in the military?”
A: “2 that I can remember. (Mom and Dad)”
S: “Do you like being a military child?”
A: “It has ups and downs. There’s some things I really like about it but somethings I don’t.”
S: “What are some of the things you like about being a military child?”
A: “I like you get to move a lot of really cool places. I probably would never lived in Florida if I never would’ve been a military child. You get to see a lot of really cool things. You get to meet a lot of new people too. My parents know the Mayor.”
S: “What are some challenges being a military child?”
A: “Well, you never really get to, if you make really really good friends, you only get to spend a few years with them. So it is harder to make friends, you don’t get to know them that good because you’re moving and then when you do make a really good friend all of the sudden you always just have to move.”
S: “What makes you proud to be a military child?”
A: “Ya, I’m proud because my parents- my dad actually he missed my first Christmas alive, in war. My mom works really hard as a nurse.”
S: “What advice would you give another military child?”
A: “Be prepared to have some sacrifices. Even though it might be hard because you have to make a lot of sacrifices there are a lot of good things about being a military kid. You get to see a lot of really cool things when you move.”
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