Fact Sheet on the Military Child

Did you know that:

• Approximately two million military children have experienced a parental deployment since 2001.
• There are currently 1.2 million military children of active duty members worldwide.
• Nearly 80 percent of military children attend public schools throughout the United States.
• The average military family moves three times more often than their civilian counterpart.
• The repeated and extended separations and increased hazards of deployment compound stressors in military children's lives.
• One third of school-age military children show psychosocial behaviors such as being anxious, worrying often, crying more frequently.¹
• The U.S. military consists of approximately 1.4 million active duty service members and 810,000 National Guard and Selected Reserve. Active duty military families live on or near military installations worldwide. National Guard and Reserve families might never live near a military installation, and look within their community for educational services, friendship and support.
• A positive school environment, built upon caring relationships among all participants—students, teachers, staff, administrators, parents and community members—has been shown to impact not only academic performance but also positively influence emotions and behaviors of students.²
• Supporting the military child takes a school-wide effort, and professional development opportunities to inform school staff of the academic and social-emotional challenges military children face.

References

1. Flake, E.M.; Davis, B.E.; Johnson, P.L.; Middleton, L.S. (August 2009). "The Psychosocial Effects of Deployment on Military Children." Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 30, 4:271-278.
2. Blum, R. "Best Practices: Building Blocks for Enhancing School Environment.” Military Child Initiative. http://www.jhsph.edu/mci/resources/Best_Practices_monograph.pdf

Return to the AASA Toolkit: Supporting the Military Child.