Wars and international conflicts have other victims apart from the civilians living in the war-torn areas and those caught in the crossfire: the children back home of the soldiers serving their country. They grow up anxious and worried about their deployed military parent. They live the agony of saying goodbye and leaving friends with each PCS. They experience the anxiety of meeting new people and surviving new challenges. Thus, many of them carry a wound that people don’t see.

Military Children are Special

Due to the challenges that military children go through, many are exceptionally resilient, courageous and strong. Their numerous PCS make them well-travelled, well-informed, inquisitive, flexible and helpful. Their experiences often make them fiercely patriotic and sensitive to people’s sufferings.

But just like any child, they are also hurting with the thought of bidding school and neighborhood buddies goodbye. They are also anxious with the prospect of going into a new environment that has different norms and expectations. They try to adjust as they venture into a new world. But along with other challenges – puberty, academic, peer pressure, etc. – regular age appropriate accomplishments may be twice as difficult, especially when they have a returning parent who is battling lots of emotional issues too.

Acting Out Their Fears and Anxieties

Despite the parents’ assurances and tedious groundwork to prepare their children for the next deployment or PCS, their young minds may not completely understand all the complexities that they experience. Things are harder for older children approaching their adolescence. What they can’t verbalize, they may express through their actions or behaviors. You may be summoned by the school for the poor academic performance, anti-social behavior, hostility or some other negative behavior. These can be manifestations of their invisible hurts and wounds that are slowly consuming them inside.

Healing Their Silent Sufferings

The sufferings of a military child don’t end with the return of a deployed parent, the end of a war or after the last PCS. The impacts of these experiences can be more profound than you may imagine. Their silence doesn’t mean they’re alright. Many of them may not be successfully verbalizing their fears, anxieties, grief, anger and other unhealthy emotions. As a parent, you want your child to grow as normally and as adjusted as possible. How can you help your child?

You don’t have to do this by yourself. Call Carolina Counseling Services – Southern Pines, NC, we can help you find the best match for you from among the therapists that CCS independently contracts. If you can sense your child is struggling with some sort of an “invisible wound,” get him/her assessed at CCS, so that the proper therapy may be provided.

Don’t let your child suffer in silence when help is available.

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