Approximately 1 in 25 Americans is a military brat. <\/p>\n
\u201cBrat,\u201d by the way, is not a derogatory term, but rather a badge of honor. Military Brats Day is observed on April 30. It was started in 2016 by Military Brats, Inc., a non-profit that seeks to preserve the culture and heritage of those who grew up military. <\/p>\n
First, a quick snapshot of what it\u2019s like to be a military child: You\u2019re moving, on average, once every three years. You\u2019re likely to have lived overseas, maybe in Germany or Korea. You don\u2019t really have a hometown. And you\u2019ve had to learn how to make friends quickly. Worst of all is when your mom or dad is deployed to a war zone. People call you resilient, but it may not feel that way to you. <\/p>\n
Military children do get to see new places\u2014and have a wealth of interesting experience. But, in addition to the stress of worrying about their parents, these kids have the stress of constant moving. <\/p>\n
The impact of that can be life-changing. According to the Journal of Adolescent Health, frequent moving increases the risk of mental health problems, including attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, self-injury, and even suicidal behaviors. The risk is higher for children in middle school and high school. <\/p>\n
By far, the most common mental health risk is anxiety, according to a publication by the U.S. Army<\/a>. Signs of anxiety include separation anxiety, worrying about the parent at home during deployment, excessive worry, sleep problems, and frequent headaches and stomach aches. It\u2019s also a red flag when kids simply stop talking to their parents. <\/p>\n Rather than just chalk these signs up to a \u201cphase,\u201d it\u2019s important to treat your child\u2019s mental health as seriously as you do their physical health, recognizing that early intervention often leads to better outcomes. <\/p>\n To assist military families, the Army has introduced the Child and Family Behavioral Health System (CAFBHS), which connects family members with top-notch mental health care. If you feel your child needs support, take advantage of the help offered. <\/p>\n While starting a new school in a new city will never be easy, MilitarySpouse.com<\/a> does offer suggestions for ways you can help your child reduce stress and anxiety during the transition. <\/p>\n \u2022 Research schools ahead of time, using sites like GreatSchools.org<\/a>. Use Facebook to look for local PTO\/PTA groups and ask them questions. Contact your receiving squadron, unit, or command and ask for the contact information for other moms who can help point you in the right direction. <\/p>\n \u2022 Compare your child\u2019s current curriculum to the curriculum in the district you\u2019re headed to. Does the new school use Common Core? Call your new school\u2019s guidance counselor and come up with a plan to determine whether your child will be ahead of or behind in their new school. <\/p>\n \u2022 Ask what special resources are available to military children. The Military Interstate Children\u2019s Compact Commission<\/a> was created to protect and advocate for these children\u2014and is a good resource. <\/p>\n \u2022 Create a binder with all of the documents you\u2019ll need, including report cards, school work samples, assessment results, teacher comments, copies of IEP, copies of 504 plan, medical immunization records, letters from teachers, and copies of testing results. <\/p>\n \u2022 Schedule meetings to discuss any special needs your child may have. <\/p>\n \u2022 Make a plan to tour the new school with your children. <\/p>\n \u2022 Once you move, contact your school liaison at your new base to get connected with other military families. <\/p>\n \u2022 Make a plan to use technology to allow your child to stay in touch with old friends. <\/p>\n Self-storage<\/a> is an easy and affordable way to make moving just a little bit less stressful. Whether you need extra space to keep things for a year or only a month, self storage gives you the space you need to make life easier. Units range from the size of a closet to the size of a garage and are available with climate control, which is important if you\u2019re storing antiques, collectibles, or even electronics. <\/p>\n Not sure what size you need? Check out our storage unit size guide<\/a>. Need more information? Contact us here<\/a>. If you\u2019re ready to get started, you can quickly rent a unit online<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Approximately 1 in 25 Americans is a military brat. \u201cBrat,\u201d by the way, is not a derogatory term, but rather a badge of honor. Military Brats Day is observed on April 30. It was started in 2016 by Military Brats, Inc., a non-profit that seeks to preserve the culture and heritage of those who grew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-storage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1705"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.storage-mart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Easing the Transition<\/h2>\n
Making Moving Easier with StorageMart<\/h2>\n