The process of parenting is complicated in all families as it requires the collaboration of all the family members in order to build a harmonic and strong structure. In military families, this building can be complicated by the various circumstances that could be caused by the military occupation position.
Betsy Flanigan in her interview states that one of the most challenging things while living in a military family is the long term absence of the husband. The focus and the main responsibilities depend on the one that stays in the house, in this case – the mother. The statuses she is possessing are doubling in quantity and could be hard to manage at the same time. In a family, where both of parents are present every day in the family life, their tasks and functions are divided, though facilitating the parenting. I believe that it is really hard to set up a rule structure that would be respected by all family members because when the parent that is a military servant comes home, the rules of the house could be changed. Kristin Wilkinson, for example, describes herself as a “bad guy” of the family . This role was not chosen by her on purpose and it complicates the relations with her step-daughter.
Another important factor that follows the military family is a particular discipline that sometimes can be exaggerated. The children that are growing with such mode of parenting could be tougher and more organized. In my opinion, this can be a good educational base for the future development of a personality. On the other hand, this strictness should be well balanced in order not to harm the kids and provoke a rebelling against.
All in all, every type of the family has their strong and weak points. I believe that military families could function better with the help of various programs that would help to cope with the gap that exists between the working military environment and a family life. It is also important to build a healthy and strong communication between all the members so that it will help to avoid misunderstandings with the house rules and the status division.
Reference
Flanigan, B., Wilkinson, K. (2014). The Challenges of Parenting in Military Families.
