Personal Narrative: My Military Family

My nuclear family consist of my two children, husband, and a dog. We are a military family. The transition from being a civilian family to a military family was a difficult process for my children. Due to the rapid deployments, I decided the best alternative for my children was for them to live with my mother until the deployments became less frequent. My goal was (and still is) to provide my children with a stable and nurturing environment where they can thrive and grow to be their best selves. During the deployments, my mother and youngest sister became my children’s primary caregiver. Even though my children lived with my mother, I was still their primary financial provider. While deployed I tried to stay active in their lives by …show more content…
I was scheduled to move to Germany in 2004. My youngest was only a year old, but my oldest was five. My main concern about my decision to move my family to another country was the affect it would impose upon my children. Another concern of mine was how was losing my family support going to affect me and my ability to continue to do my job. Even though I was stationed four hours away, I relied heavily on my family for extend childcare. School and the cultural difference was also another problem. We moved to Germany in the summer of 2004. The move to Germany was a fairly ease move. My children was excited about having their own room and a play room with lots of toys. There was a playground within walking distance so we would spend a lot of time …show more content…
It was very difficult for my son to adapt to school and daycare. After the first couple of weeks, he was labeled the problem child and I was asked to have him evaluated for ADHA. I tried to explain to his teacher and the administrators that he was just home sick and his behavior is not typical. He had never had any problems in school before, therefore I was not worried about him not being diagnosed. My son reached all normal developmental milestones, therefore, there was no indication that he needed any additional testing. Only serious lags in development and or those increasing in severity should be considered for additional assessment (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashman, 2013). In my personal opinion, my rank, color, and education had an influenced how we were treated. I was offered no support from the school for my child until I have him evaluated so that could “rule out any learning disabilities”. I was not opposing because According to Zastrow, parents are often confused about their child’s behavior and emotional development and needs assistance understanding the behavior may be an indication of a more serious problem (2014). I was not confused nor was I concerned for his behavior and emotional development. My main concern was that I was not being heard as his parent and the change in his environment was not taken into account.