Being a military child can be very challenging from time to time. They are constantly moving schools and states, which is why the symbol of the Military Child is a Dandelion. 

They have to deal with their parent going out of the country fighting and training. They are left with the unknown feeling of if their parent is going to come home or not. 

It makes it very hard to enjoy holidays when your Mom or Dad are deployed. It is also hard on the parent not getting to see their kids. 

 As a military child myself I moved states 5 times. I was lucky when my parents decided to stop moving and stay put. For me, I was around the ages of 1-8 when we were moving around the country. 

It was really hard at the beginning of 2nd grade because everyone already had their friend groups and knew all their friends since kindergarten. I was also too young for a phone so I couldn’t keep in touch with my friends from my old schools. 

My worst fear as a military child was if my Dad was going to get deployed. Something that the military does for kids for when their dad is gone for a long time, is dolls called “daddy dolls’’  from Hug- A Hero.com, which is a little pillow with a picture of their dad in his uniform on the pillow.

Being a military kid makes you appreciate the time you have with that parent. It makes seeing them at recitals, games, concerts all more special. 

April is the Month of the Military Child. To show support, Powhatan High School had a get together in the commons on Wednesday, April 17th where students parents came and they got to spend the whole Indian Time with them. To support, the school was encouraged to wear purple. 

I know me and many other military children are very grateful for my military parent and I am lucky he is still with me, considering not many others get that luxury. Being a military child has its ups and downs but I am grateful for the experiences it brought me. I feel it taught me to appreciate little moments and the people I have in my life.