Every April is Month of the Military Child.
This special month is set aside to honor the resiliency of the children who are a part of military families. The month of the Military Child started back in 1986 by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger who wanted to have a way to recognize military children and their sacrifices.
Now is the perfect time to let your children know just how brave and amazing you think they are — today and everyday.
Need some Month of the Military Child ideas?
Here are 11 ways to celebrate your military child this month:
1. Wear Purple
April 15th is Purple Up! Day, an opportunity for Americans everywhere to show support for military children. Pick your favorite shade of purple and wear it all day long to raise awareness of the sacrifices military families make, but especially kids. Let your child know you’re wearing purple especially for them.
2. Have a Special Date Night
With life’s chaos, it can be challenging to spend quality time with your children. This is especially true when you’re a military family just trying to get through a long deployment or settling into a new duty station. Let your child pick a place to go and treat them to a date night. If you have multiple kids, do this with each of them individually.
3. “Share Your Story” Project
Your school-aged child might have the opportunity to do show and tell or another similar project. Use this as an opportunity to educate other students and teachers about Month of the Military Child. If your child goes to a DoD school, encourage them to do a fun presentation on all the places they’ve lived.
4. Create a Scavenger Hunt
This activity is especially fun if you’ve just relocated to a new duty station. You might do it on base in a safe place like the commissary or exchange. Create a list of items for your kids to find. Have players take pictures of items or collect listed objects. Set a timer and see who finishes first! Set behavior expectations as well prior to starting.
5. Be Genuine
Sometimes you just want to do the dishes, laundry, and a million other items on your to-do list. If sitting down and playing a board game sounds boring, but your kid would love it, give it a try. Genuine encounter moments (call these GEM for short!), are when your kids get your full and undivided attention. Be in the moment and watch how your kids open up.
6. Host a Photoshoot
Let your child wear that colorful tutu or awesome superhero cape for a photoshoot. Call in a professional photographer or snap pics on your phone. If you want to get super creative, have your kids help you create a backdrop and pick out props for their photoshoot. Bring in their closest military friends, too, for double the fun. Be sure to send the pics to your service member if they’re deployed.
7. Be a Guest Speaker
Young kids love to show off their parents. Whether you’re a military spouse or service member, offer to be a guest speaker in your child’s classroom during the Month of the Military Child. Share your experiences, and open the floor for discussion about military life.
8. Ask About Their Feelings
Whether it’s over dinner or a visit to an ice cream parlor, ask your kids how they’re doing. Let them lead the conversation, but sprinkle in questions like “How does that make your feel?” or “What do you think about ______?” Listen, verify, and validate their feelings. You’ll be surprised what they are willing to share if you ask in the right setting.
9. Connect With Other Military Families
When you spend quality time with other military families with kids, it can help your own child or children create their tribe. This is especially true for families within the same unit or platoon. As deployments come up, your kids can learn and grow together in the ways of military life.
10. Friday Fun
For the month of April, let your child decide what you do on Friday nights. This will let them feel like they have a say in what family does, when they so often don’t. Consider all requests thoughtfully and make modifications as necessary. Movie nights, ordering take-out, and water balloon fights in the yard are a couple of ideas to get started.
11. Get Teachers Involved
Ask your child’s teacher if they’d be willing to plan some lessons around the military. This might be especially interesting for children to learn more about military life operations. If your family has a favorite book about deployments or military life, offer to let the teacher borrow it for a lesson or two.
Celebrate in the Way That Honors Your Child Best
Every child’s personality is different, and they all love unique activities. However you decide to celebrate Month of the Military Child this April, recognizing your child and their sacrifices will make them feel important.
Military children can often feel as though their feelings don’t matter, especially when it comes to big decisions like moving across the country. Take this month to celebrate their resilience and willingness to adjust to military life.
Above all, ask your child how they’d like to celebrate their unique role as a military child. Their ideas might just surprise you!
How do you plan to celebrate Month of the Military Child? Let us know in the comments below!
