Too Young to Go to War, Old Enough to Suffer
Do you know a seven-year-old? What makes her giggle? What toy tops his Christmas list this year? Most youngsters engage life with tons of energy, curiosity and delight. An increasing number, unfortunately, are drained of childhood optimism and vigor. The culprit? War! I'm not talking about the plight of children in Afghanistan or Iraq forced to take up weapons. American and Canadian children, those in our own backyards, playing soccer and hockey afterschool, and memorizing multiplication tables are the ones suffering from war. They are children of soldiers. Writing on November 11, 2010, Remembrance Day (Veterans Day), Jamie Hall of the Edmonton Journal warns that "children of soldiers are among the biggest casualties" 1 of war.
How serious is it? Stacy Bannerman, author of When the War Came Home: The Inside Story of Reservists and the Families They Leave Behind, reports the attempted suicide of a seven-year-old second-grader while his father was deployed to Iraq yet again.2 Suicide? A seven-year-old? A rare occurrence to be sure but the precipitating anguish and anxiety are all too common among youngsters in military families. Data released in May 2010, indicates a significant increase in the number of children of active duty parents using mental health services. In just five years (2003 - 2008), outpatient mental health visits made by children doubled from one million to two million.3 During the same period, the "total days of inpatient psychiatric care for children of active duty personnel 14 and under increased from 35,000 to 55,000."4 Kids ages 4 to 17 whose parent has deployed seek mental health services at a rate three and a half times higher than their civilian counterparts.5 Sound serious enough?