By Dr. Charles Patterson, WCI Columnist
Most of us parents want what is best for our children, even when obligations to our patients and careers supersede the ideal participation in their lives. This reality is highlighted for children of military members with sometimes appalling consequences. The constant threat of being uprooted, long parental work hours, deployments, and a whole host of hardships leave military children at a much higher risk of psychosocial morbidity. The instability that results from service (particularly in wartime) increases the risk of experiencing violence, weapon carrying, and truancy. The rates of suicidal behavior and substance abuse in these children are also markedly higher than for their non-military affiliated peers.
But they don’t have to be. Fortunately, with robust resources available, this bleak data can improve.
A noble goal for all of our children is for them to reach adulthood as strong, thoughtful, independent, well-adjusted, articulate, and responsible leaders in their communities. Cultivating the healthy coping mechanisms that foster resilience and bolster self-confidence is a little different for military children than it is for their civilian counterparts. Investing in their security, healthcare, education, and family time nurtures their sense of belonging and establishes healthy, lifelong habits. Resources that support these foundational aspects of child-rearing abound, and they will be described in detail in the following paragraphs.
Childcare Options Available to Military Families
Given the often long (and odd) hours required of military members, childcare can be problematic. However, being a military member or affiliate qualifies parents for cost-efficient on-base daycare and after-school programs. In some locations, overnight and 24/7 childcare is also available. Services are accessible for infants through seventh grade, and they must adhere to the strict DoD Child Development Programs Standards of Operation. If there is limited availability (typical), off-base child care is often subsidized for qualified centers, which keeps costs appropriately affordable.
To be eligible, a child must be a dependent of active duty military or Coast Guard personnel, DoD civilian employees, National Guard/reserve component military personnel on orders, active duty combat-related wounded warriors, Gold Star spouses of military members who died from a combat-related incident, or those acting in loco parentis for the dependent child of an otherwise eligible sponsor.
Ideally, we would be home with our families more often than not. But we all know that’s not a reasonable expectation for physicians and military professionals. Entrusting my kids’ care to others is uncomfortable, but I have found these centers to be well-run with competent staff and rigorous protocols for activities, hygiene, and security.
More information here:
Asset Allocation in the Military: Be Aggressive
What You Need to Know About the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
Healthcare Options Available to Military Families
All military children are entitled to Tricare benefits. This comprehensive coverage applies through age 21 (or longer depending on education or special needs status), and it includes medical care from gestation through adolescence. Underscoring my bias, I have found the healthcare provided to military children to be phenomenal. Not flashy (and say what you will about cumbersome access) but absolutely appropriate. For all kids, a full complement of AAP-advised services is available throughout development.
Taking care of military families with special needs has been a public and critical venture that long predates my time in the armed forces. Having gotten to know many, many families who depend on extensive medical and social services, I will be the first to admit that there is room for improvement. But I have also marveled at the care that special needs kids receive and the comfort that comes with knowing that parents are liable for little to none of the monetary cost. Imagine, if you will, a child with complex care needs including extended hospital/ICU stays, durable medical equipment, a team of subspecialists, and constant monitoring. Such a situation is trying enough for families, but bearing little (if any) of the associated, devastating cost is a service hardly matched in the civilian world.
Yet, that is done frequently for our troop’s families. Initiatives such as the Exceptional Family Member Program help to keep families in resource-rich locations while accommodating their service obligations. There are seemingly innumerable horror stories out there about the difficulty of access or the quality of this provider or that facility. I know because I have seen or experienced it first-hand, and working to solve those problems is essential. But having worked in all manner of healthcare environments and having experienced a vast array of different insurers and payers, I am thankful that my family has access to the military healthcare system.
How to Save for a Child’s Education While in the Military
With education crucial for stability, development, and future opportunities, providing robust resources for military kids is essential. Saving for education while in the armed forces is similar to the civilian world with a few nifty benefits.
529 Plans
Of course there are the state-specific 529 plans, which should form the backbone of college savings. Typically, a bucket to fill with $18,000 annually (per donor) [2024] can be “front-loaded” with five years worth of savings. These limits will likely exceed what is reasonable for a military family, given the government salary. Moreover, the tax benefits that can be captured are probably not going to move the needle much in light of the already low tax brackets found with a military income. But there are other benefits: with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, those 529 savings might also be used for private primary or high school. This latter feature opens up more education options for those stationed in areas with a sparse or inadequate selection of schools.
Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)
The ESA is a tax-advantaged education investment vehicle available to families who earn less than $110,000 per year (single) or $220,000 (joint)—in other words, military families. The contribution limits are far below the 529 at $2,000 per year, but these savings can be used for primary and high school (a feature only recently matched by the 529). While inferior to the 529 in several regards (so inferior that many brokerage houses, including Vanguard, don’t even offer them anymore), it is nevertheless a reasonable savings option for military families.
The GI Bill
The GI Bill education benefits are perhaps the greatest gift to military families hoping to pay for higher education. A service member with qualifying time in service (usually six years) and remaining service obligation (usually four years) may transfer their benefits to a spouse, child(ren), or both. The transfer process is relatively straightforward, and it results in 36 months of money to be used for tuition, room, board, books, and supplies. For those looking to spend a career in the armed forces, passing the GI Bill benefits offers a means of alleviating or eliminating onerous higher education costs.
Scholarships
Because of your service, your children may be eligible for unique scholarships available only to them. This is especially true if you have been permanently disabled or died while serving. These include the Fry Scholarship and the Dependents’ Education Assistance program. As morbid as it may be to think about, it is a tremendous relief to know that if that fate should befall me, my kids will have robust resources to help them. Now, one need not die in service for their children to be eligible for a cornucopia of other scholarships.
UGMA/UTMA
While they’re not qualified education accounts, Uniform Gift to Minors (UGMA) or Uniform Transfer to Minors (UTMA) accounts are vehicles designed to gift to children. Be aware that these are not trusts per se and that, once created, are very difficult to control or rescind. Further, contributions of more than $18,000 per year [2024] trigger the gift tax. Those drawbacks aside, a UGMA/UTMA can have utility in the event that you have assets to give your children on top of the above.
Educational resources are not limited to scholarships, either. Free, facile access to online resources from tutors to a full digital library makes educational enrichment easier for families who are often separated or on odd schedules. And as we will see, sponsored morale, wellness, and recreation resources counterbalance the trials of the military day-to-day and year-to-year in ways that engender healthy growth for military kids.
More information here:
Insuring the Military Physician
Base-Sponsored Services for Families
Time is perhaps the most important element that you can give your child to nurture your relationship and foster a sense of stability. By virtue of holding a DoD identification card, a world of discounts is available to make that time more accessible: from hotels to airfare, many institutions make family travel more affordable (our favorite is the America the Beautiful Pass). There are even military-owned hotels and campsites that make destination vacations feasible.
Special programs seemingly run constantly, and discounted concert and event tickets can be found through numerous organizations online. On-base, dedicated family services such as the Airman Family Readiness Center and Army Community Services further family support, and they are indispensable resources for building and keeping morale high at home. Most bases and locations offer a variety of family-centered services to promote time together, including outdoor recreation centers that outfit family adventures at remarkably low cost. It may not be REI, but kids care more about time with you than a Patagonia emblem (yes, even teens).
How your family time can be subsidized is seemingly endless—entitlements that supplement an invaluable return on your time investment. Your attention and interest do more than build a sense of belonging. They expose your kids to the values by which you live and the principles you cherish. Sponsored services make this pivotal task just a little easier.
More information here:
What It’s Like to Be a Military Doctor — and Is It the Right Path for You?
What Will Your Children Learn from Your (Their) Military Service?
Military families live in parallel to—yet distinct from—the “civilian world.” The armed forces bring together folks from all over the nation—from all over the world—and build them into a complex organization ever-focused on the Mission. And, like clockwork, it cycles them through a diaspora that connects them with new people and new places. Such transitions can be tough on families, but they can also be good and healthy.
The military community, built around a rigorous lifestyle, broadens horizons through exposure to experiences and cultures otherwise unavailable to the general population. For the children being raised within it, a unique worldview is cultivated. The challenges posed by frequent moves and periodic separations also work to promote growth and, optimally, resilience. Through appropriate guidance and mentorship, and with robust resources at their disposal, military families can foster a sense of stability and flexibility. Moreover, the distinct opportunities available to them can help usher their children to a responsible, well-adjusted, and productive adulthood.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect any official position of the Department of Defense or the US government. These writings are not authorized, approved, or endorsed by any of the above entities.
Were you a child in a military family? What did you gain from that experience? If you’re in the military now with a family, what have you taken advantage of to further your child’s growth? Comment below!
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