9 Reasons Military Kids are Awesome! + Bring ProCamps to your Military Base!

Compensation for this post was provided by Procter & Gamble via MSB New Media. All opinions expressed in this article are my own.

Being a military kid can be tough. Changing homes, schools, states, and sometimes even countries every few years. Having parents deploy for 6-18 months at a time. Having parents leave for months at a time in between deployments to go on Temporary Duty Assignments (TDY). Men and women who serve in the military, and their children, who didn’t necessarily ask for the responsibility, are required to do so as well.

My children have moved 2 times in the past 4 years and will move a 3rd time again this summer. Thankfully, their dad’s deployment to Afghanistan last spring was cancelled. But they have still had to brave several periods where their dad was gone for sometimes months at a time.

This month Proctor & Gamble celebrates the Month of the Military Child. Military children make just as great of sacrifices as their parents it is a wonderful thing to have that recognized. Military kids are pretty awesome!

In fact, I asked some of my military spouse friends to tell me what “awesome” traits or characteristics their children have developed by virtue of being a military child. Here’s what they had to say:

Reasons Military Kids are AWESOME:

1. They are HELPFUL: My husband was gone several times on military business when Little Z was just a newborn and infant. Z was a terrible sleeper in those days. I was exhausted, my house was a wreck, and I was often at my wit’s end. My two older children ages 6 and 3 at the time learned to do chores, make their own breakfasts, and run whatever little errand I needed in order to help me through the days.
2. They are RESILIENT: “We recently had a conversation with our kids about our future and the possibility of moving again.  I mentioned how worried I was about our high school daughters, and what it would be like if they had to move during their high school years.  I mentioned losing school credit, making new friends, finding new activities, etc.  One daughter looked at me and said, ‘Mom, we can do it.  Give us some credit.  We are resilient’.   That was such a proud mommy moment..I know that a lot of [the resiliency] comes from within them and from their life experiences as a military child…Hopefully by learning resiliency at a young age, it will help them better prepare for the world as changes and challenges come to them.” -Contributed by “S.B.”
3. They are ADAPTABLE: “My children all adapt to new situations very easily. They enjoy meeting new people and are not afraid of unknown situations. We have a child that will be going across the country to college next year and the whole idea is so exciting to her. She has moved 8 times through her lifetime so she is very adaptable. As we have moved so many times we have told our kids that they GET to move and most kids don’t.  Instead of they HAVE to move. It is something special that they get to do that not many kidsdo. They GET to meet so many people, and that has really opened up the world to them.” -Contributed by Heather
4. They are COMPASSIONATE: “They know what it’s like to be the new kid.  They know how it feels to attend a father’s and son’s campout without their father.  Or a daddy daughter event.  They are very aware of others in similar circumstances and are often inviting other children to join our family and ‘share’ our dad.  More specifically they have a lot more love and compassion for each other.  They all struggle with deployments, but usually not all at once.  On more than one occasion I have found siblings holding on to each other, sharing in each other’s sadness, and offering words of comfort.  They just get it.  They get sadness, loneliness, fear and they have a strong desire to reach out to others and offer their support.” -Contributed by Mandi
5. They are INDEPENDENT: “Picking up and moving every 3-4 years, has taught them to adjust to new settings and make friends quickly.  They’ve experienced different regions and cultures of the country, which gives them confidence when meeting new people.  My most extreme example of this would be my high-functioning autistic son.  He started his childhood being afraid to interact with his peers.  Fast-forward through 10 years and three painful moves in which he had to learn to make friends all over again, and his Sophomore year found him taking a study-abroad trip all by himself to Russia to study the people and cultures there.  Had he lived in only one place his whole life, and not had the experience of making new friends in new places, I doubt he would feel independent enough to leave his family and venture out on his own.” -Contributed by Karen
6. They are PATRIOTIC: “I think this is a character trait that is dwindling in America right now.  But my kids have had to sacrifice a lot for their country.  We’ve had many opportunities to talk about the flag and what it represents.  I hope their trials as amilitary child have left them with an understanding of the price of freedom.  Sometimes I think they are too little to understand such an enormous concept.  But sometimes their insights surprise me.” -Contributed by Mandi
7. They PERSEVERE:  “I thought I would ask my now 13 year old daughter who was a military child until she was 10 what she thought about the question.’I learned to set goals and reach them.’ She explained  further that she would set goals, such as a goal of making friends, small steps at a time and not give up during the process of working toward her goal.  My daughter has used this characteristic “perseverance” even more during our transition out of the military.  Leaving the wonderful ” bubble “of our military community into the real world and Junior High was a bumpy adjustment.  Her perseverance in facing the various obstacles and setting goals to overcome those obstacles continues to carry her through in a positive direction and it is now an awesome part of who she is.” -Contributed by Dianne
8. They have a strong sense of FAMILY:  “I think the most awesome thing that has come from being a military family though is the love and loyalty they have to each other.  Military kids are constantly being asked to leave friends, neighbors, and schools each time they move.  But our family stays together.  This has made my kids best friends.  They have to count on each other because sometimes that’s all they have.  My military kids are awesome because they love each other fiercely.  Their trials have strengthened them and unified them.” -Contributed by Mandi
9. They are just plain AWESOME: “As our 20 years in the military draw to a close I do reflect on how this lifestyle has impacted our children.  Do I think our military kids (now 20, 17 and 14) are awesome? You better believe it! Let me use our youngest as the example as I try to convey some of the awesomeness I see in our children.  Almost two years ago we had left a wonderful overseas assignment, which our then 12 year old son had loved. We were about to touch down in a new state, which was going to be our home for the next couple of years.  Looking out the window our son exclaims “Welcome home!”, followed by “I am going to like it here!”  A couple of days later, after moving our belongings into our new home, he, without hesitation, headed out to see what new friends he could meet on our street.  At school he was asked by the school counselor to assist other military kids (approx. 20% at his school), as they arrive, to adjust and settle in at their new school.” -Contributed by Rika

P&G’s Month of the Military Child Campaign is all about focusing on raising healthy and active military kids! After all, they deserve a a little attention and recognition, too! P&G has partnered with the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) to help bring ProCamps to a military base near you!

ProCamps are a great way for your military children to meet new friends! They encourage a healthy, active lifestyle, and provides that once in a lifetime opportunity to play football with an NFL player. At ProCamps your kids will catch passes, learn routes and defend against the players that they look up to and see on TV each Sunday. At each of the camps, the kids will receive a camp t-shirt, an autograph from the player, a team photo and a football among other things! How cool is that?!

What a great way to promote physical fitness and bring the military community together!

You can help your commissary bring a ProCamp to your base from now to April 8th when you purchase P&G select brands at the commissary. Just look for select, marked items such as Tide, Bounty, Charmin, Pantene, Crest, and Gillette at your Commissary.

Have fun shopping!