military moving ..and emotions. (parents, children, high school, friends)

[x0vanessa0x]

We are about to make our first move for the military I know this won't be our last. I have a 7&2 year old.. anybody know the effects of moving so frquently. I would like to find out so I can prepare and hopefully combat whatever might happen. O

[Mattie]

I think if you post this on the CD military forum you would get lots of helpful advice from people who have been in the same position.

[lisdol]

The family center on base will have all sorts of information on how to help your kids. I never used the formal programs they had but they might be good sources of information. For our last move I got the older kids (school-aged) binders and we looked up information on the internet about our new city and printed it out so they had a binder full of things about the new place (photos of the base housing, the base facilities, photos and info pages for area museums, attractions, etc....).

As kids reach school-age, if you can live on base, it might be a good experience for them because there will be other kids in the neighborhood who also move as part of life, and not only will it seem more normal to them, but these children tend to make friends fairly easily because they are used to having to do so. Seeing a new kid on the playground is not abnormal at all. The friendships are obviously more transient than two "besties" who grew up for years together, but I think its easier than for a child who is the only new kid in the class/on the playground.

Girl scouts/boy scouts is a good way to add consistency. The program is pretty much the same wherever you go, even though troops/packs can vary.

[Severs]

speaking from personal experience (navy brat) your children WILL go thru periods of not fitting in, they will be the outcast, they will get picked on...

however, they WILL also find where they belong and chance are make freinds who will last beyond high school, i did, never fit in with the popular crowd, always picked on (till i finally realized fighting back was the real solution)

during my school days, i was the outcast, the easy target, the one to be picked on, but the few freinds i actually made lasted and i still have them, meanwhile most everyone else is forgotten about (cept on facebook where i tend to ingore the idiots who picked on me)

bottom line, they will feel bad, they will get picked on, but they will get over it and probably be better off for it

[okpondlady]

Originally Posted by Severs

speaking from personal experience (navy brat) your children WILL go thru periods of not fitting in, they will be the outcast, they will get picked on...

however, they WILL also find where they belong and chance are make freinds who will last beyond high school, i did, never fit in with the popular crowd, always picked on (till i finally realized fighting back was the real solution)

during my school days, i was the outcast, the easy target, the one to be picked on, but the few freinds i actually made lasted and i still have them, meanwhile most everyone else is forgotten about (cept on facebook where i tend to ingore the idiots who picked on me)

bottom line, they will feel bad, they will get picked on, but they will get over it and probably be better off for it

I was an Army brat. I never felt terrible about always being the new kid BUT my parents were a bit older and my dad had a little more rank than the usual little kids. I moved with them alot. Yes it is a pain sometimes but you get to meet lots of people and my brother and I had alot of fun getting to see new places. We almost always lived on base though. Do go to the family center, they have LOTS of resources. Plus it was always a great place to hang out for us.