Goodfellow celebrates Month of Military Child

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Anne Gathua
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Imagine leaving behind all that is familiar, suddenly being uprooted from everything you have grown accustomed to. Imagine having to move almost every six months and having to change schools and friends. This is just a tidbit of what military children endure.

"Our military children lead such amazing lives," said Cindy Cumming, the director of the Goodfellow Child Development Center. "They deal with PCS moves, TDYs and deployments that take their parents away from them. They deal with changes in childcare, school and so much more."

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, underscoring the important role military children play in the armed forces community, Ms. Cumming said. The Month of the Military Child is a time to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and challenges they overcome. In April, she added we take some time to reflect on the impact the military lifestyle has on children.

"Military children face many obstacles unique to their situation such as having a parent deployed for extended periods of time and frequently being uprooted from school," Ms. Cumming said. "Often parents have no choice but to leave their children with relatives the children have never met or leave infants with caregivers. This affects the children's social and emotional well being."

Children may go through anxiety, depression and may show signs of inappropriate behavior, Ms. Cumming said.

"I have great respect for military children," said Ms. Cumming, who has worked for military child care programs for eight years. "The more I work with them the more I respect them. The military life is hard on the parents but it's 100 times harder on the children."

The Goodfellow Air Force Base Child Development Center is dedicated to providing quality, affordable and available care in support of the local military community. They offer various programs which include full-time care, part-day enrichment preschool, monthly give parents a break program and parents night out, special openings and extended hours during exercises.

The practices of Air Force Child Development Programs are based on current knowledge of child development and early childhood education. They are responsible for supporting the development of the whole child, meaning all areas of development are considered inter-related and equally important.

The program acknowledges that children learn through active, hands-on involvement with their environment, peers and caring adults.

They respect each child's unique interests, experiences, abilities and needs thus allowing them to be responsive to and appropriate for each child. Children are valued as individuals, as well as part of a group. Likewise, the program respects and supports the ideals, cultures and values of families in their task of nurturing children. They advocate for children, families and the early childhood professionals within their programs.

"We are here to help them deal with the stressors," said Ms. Cumming. "Our experienced teachers provide stability and open communication with the children and parents."

The DOD child care system was voted number one according to a report done by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, said Ms. Cumming.

"Celebrating the month of the military child helps us raise awareness of exactly what military children go through," said Ms. Cumming.

Larrie Jarvis, a Navy child and youth programs analyst, said events that celebrate the Month of the Military Child stress the importance of providing children with quality services and support to help them succeed in the mobile military lifestyle. As part of the celebrations, the CDC had organized activities and events that parents and children took part in to honor the military child. The events included the annual children's festival which was held last Saturday.

"The celebrations went really well," said Ms. Cumming. "We raised awareness on the stressors children go through and let parents know different ways they can value their children."

Ms. Cumming said while the Month of the Military Child is geared towards raising awareness of the many issues and challenges military children face, it is important to remember that children continue to experience these challenges year round.

"One of the best ways that we can support a population of children in continual transition is to provide stability through child development programs that offer quality, available and affordable care to military families," said Ms. Cumming. "In addition, we can continue to encourage and promote our youngest "heroes" for their courage and resiliency. Let's always celebrate the great things about our kids."

(For more information, contact the CDC at 654-3240.)