Military service members are not the only ones serving their country. Their families – especially their children – do so as well, showing resilience, support, and strength.

In April, the Department of Defense celebrates military children for their essential role in the force's readiness – and the Defense Health Agency joins in that celebration with its "Celebrating the Mighty" campaign.

"Military kids are the cornerstone of military families worldwide," said Kelly Blasko, who has a doctorate in counseling psychology and is the DHA's Connected Health Branch lead for mobile health clinical integration. "Helping ensure their health and mental well-being enables military parents to focus on serving the country."

Patti Johnson has a doctorate in clinical psychology, specializing in pediatrics, and supports the DHA's Behavioral Health Clinical Management Team.

"Military children and youth show their resilience each day by making sacrifices small and large in support of the mission success of their service member parent," she said. "Their health and well-being contribute immeasurably to the readiness of the force."

Challenges: Glass half full

Military children face unique challenges, including psychological challenges related to military life, explained Blasko.

However, Johnson said, they also experience relatively unique events in comparison to their non-military peers that can positively impact their development and functioning.

"Military kids are more likely to move multiple times during their grade-school years and have a parent absent for long periods of time in potentially dangerous locations," said Blasko. "Unfortunately, they also may learn about difficult topics like injury or death at an early age, but they tend to also learn how to function well in stressful situations."

Though these factors may greatly stress military kids' mental health, their resiliency depends on the support they receive. Preparing for deployment as a family can help families handle the stress and changes of separation, noted Blasko.

Still, separations are not new for military kids. Because of continuous permanent changes of station or parental deployments, they know how to keep connected through letters, video chat, and other means, she added.

Additionally, living in geographically diverse locations - whether in the United States or other countries - exposes them to people who have different world views, perspectives, histories, and knowledge sets, added Johnson.

"This widens their opportunities to learn about different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, languages, and so on," she said. And "while moving frequently can provide some challenges, research suggests that as a result of military relocations, many military-connected children develop advantageous social skills needed to readily connect and engage with peers as well as adults."

Their experiences encourage many military-connected children to embrace positive military values such as patriotism, honesty, selflessness, and honor, said Johnson. "The adoption of positive core values likely contributes to enhanced self-worth and promotes healthy social and emotional development in many military youths."

This can result in kids with strong resilience skills that help them adjust and cope with military-related stressors, explained Johnson.

"These resilient kids adapt to new environments, put themselves out there to make new friends, and sometimes pick up more responsibilities at home," added Blasko.

Said Johnson: "Overall, the military lifestyle can be a very positive experience for many military-connected children. Military lifestyle experiences can instill a sense of responsibility, independence, tolerance, and maturity."

However, both experts agree that for some, it can prove stressful, and parents and other important adults should be aware of this possibility and provide support as needed to help all children adjust to this lifestyle.