Children development is a complex process and demands the availability of support from the various perspectives of parenting and the society. The increase of the United States military interventions across the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century has increased the rate and number of deployments of military personnel. Cognizant of a large number of deployed personnel in the country, the number of families affiliated with the deployed people is considerable. While it is within the job description of the military personnel to serve their country, raising their children in the context of their deployment is pedimented by the violent nature of their jobs. Although children themselves do not experience combat, the deployment of one or both of their parents destabilizes their family environment. Therein, the children are exposed to psychological effects of deployment and therefore vulnerable to various psychosocial problems.
The context of military families
Visualization of military families is different from the conventional families due to the nature of the military jobs. For instance, conventional families possess the stability of parent presence while in the military, deployments lead to the absence of one or both parents during the developmental stages of children. The military lifestyle is different from the rest of the conventional families. Faced with various stages of military deployment, an organization of the family is dependent on the job description of the military personnel. Among other things, military families are exposed to issues of instability (Barker, and Berry, 2009). For instance, due to the constant assignment of jobs through the command structure, military personnel have no control of their living area. Therefore, the family in constant relocation depends on the various military bases around the country. In the United States, there are countless military bases that form the home of military personnel.
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With no control of the assignments handed to the military personnel, families adjust to the constant movement from one base to another. Such level of change destabilizes the social structure and socialization process of the military families. Coupled with deployment, the military families do not only suffer physical instability, but also family instability due to the absence of either one or both parents during deployment (Trautmann, Alhusen, and Gross, 2015). Children in the families, therefore, experience various degrees of instability and chaos in their living situation which may manifest in actions related to psychological stress.
Social implications of children of military service
Societal behaviour on the children of military service is based on the recognition of the service rendered by their parents in the military. Nonetheless, little is known about the lives of the military families and therefore little investment to the lives of children. Cognizant of the trauma and nature of military life, there are several societal recommendations plausible to increase social participation. Among them include educational support and psychological support and treatment.
Education support is relevant within the context of the unstable living conditions. Due to the constant relocation, children spend little time at any one school. Therefore, their education is hampered by the constant change long before the child is stabilized in the school environment. Nonetheless, the education system within the United States has little recognition of the instability of the children and therefore increasing the level of chaos in the lives of the children (Barker, and Berry, 2009). Therein, through specialized education support of the military families, a form of education system targeting military children would encourage a level of stability in the lives of children.
Constant relocation of the families also damages the social development of the children of military background. For instance, the children rarely make parent social connections with other children due to the movement of their parents. Therefore, children are impaired in developing social lives that support their emotional and psychological growth (Davis, 2012). Further, the constant deployment increases traumatic experiences at home due to the trauma faced by parents in the war. Therein, psychological support available ought not only to concentrate on the soldiers but also on their children.
Mass media and the families of war veterans
There are various perspectives that exist within the United States about the intervention and deployment of American soldiers across the world. Such attitudes and perspectives are not only in reference to the military involvement but also on the moral obligation of the United States. The debate that ensues is perpetuated by the mass media which affects and portrays the military lifestyle on various platforms. Cognizant of the various attitudes involved, the mass media shape the perspective of how the society views military families (Trautmann, Alhusen, and Gross, 2015). For instance, due to post-traumatic stress and trauma experienced by military personnel during the war, cases of suicides, depression and domestic violence and eventual divorce are proliferated. Mass media highlights on these issues vehemently to provide proof and backup the various perspectives available on the ensuing war.
On another perspective, mass media has perpetuated a heroic image on the families of the war veterans through the service of the military personnel. The perspective is often superficial that it does not denote the struggles of the families and the readjustment process of the family members during and after deployment. Therein, the image covers up the protracted family crisis and struggles of children in the military life. Further, the perspective shapes the public opinion of the people and therefore the policies enacted to support the families in the military during the readjustment period.
References
Barker, L. H., & Berry, K. D. (2009). Developmental issues impacting military families with young children during single and multiple deployments. Military Medicine, 174 (10), 1033-1040. 10.7205/MILMED-D-04-1108
Davis, A. J. (2012). The Effects of Military Deployment on Children's Health and Well-Being.
Trautmann, J., Alhusen, J., & Gross, D. (2015). Impact of deployment on military families with young children: A systematic review. Nursing outlook , 63 (6), 656-679.
