How do you prepare a child for deployments, for relocations, or for adjustments to military life, in general? How do you support a child whose father or mother has been injured in combat and whose lif

Military Children Military Children Program Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] BETSY FLANIGAN: I think the effect of military life on our children-- when we lived on a military post, we were very happy with the military schools. \ And there didn't seem to be a problem with adjustment there. So that was good. As \ soon as you arrived at a post, you were welcomed at a coffee or lunch. And you g\ ot to meet everybody.

Everybody was very helpful. You could exchange names for babysitting, th\ at kind of thing. So it was very supportive. There were different activities for\ the children.

There were youth activities.

And there was a post nursery. The children didn't know whose rank somebo\ dy else's parent was, but also, you lived in quarters only with people of y\ our same rank. So even in the school, everything would be everybody about the sam\ e.

Late r, we move to a civilian community. And that was just civilian schools. \ And again, because so many people were military or retired military, I don't\ think they stood out. And as far as psychologically, I think that the temperament o\ f a career military officer, which is what Desmond was, is a very somewhat rigid an\ d somewhat unbending.

And so that definitely had an effect on the children. I think some of th\ em rebelled.

And that was hard for us to understand. It's finally come around circle \ that now that the y're older and we can discuss things, they kind of understand some things. And we feel really bad about certain things.

But they also are very kind to us and say, well, we had good times too, \ but it was challenging, definitely challenging.

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