Military Families

Children who have a parent, sibling or family member who works in The British Armed Forces (The Royal Navy and The Royal Marines, The British Army and The Royal Airforce), are not alone.

It is estimated that there are 174,000 young people with a parent working in The British Armed Forces in the UK.

A young person with a armed forces family member may have additional and unique life experiences that may impact upon the way they feel or/and their mental health such as;

• Time away from a parent with infrequent, little or no contact for long periods of time.
• Worrying about the safety of a parent who has been deployed.
• Frequent moving of house and changing schools.
• Moving away from and having to make new friends.
• Moving away from hobbies and activities.
• Caring for other siblings or family members.
• Coping with uncertainty and unpredictability.
• Experiencing and adjusting to traumatic illness, injury or bereavement

As people cope and manage with situations differently, people will experience these situations and will cope with them differently. There is no right or wrong way to feel or respond if one or more of these life experiences happens or has happened to your child.

If your child is struggling and finding it hard to cope it is important that they feel able to tell someone how they are feeling. This could be a family member or another trusted adult.

Your child might find the different sections on this website helpful so please have a look to see what other topics might be relevant to you.