In April, the military community comes together to highlight the contributions, bravery and patriotism of its youngest members. The Month of the Military Child recognizes the more than 1.9 million U.S. military children that brave the unique challenges of military life. Often military kids face back-to-back deployments of a parent or they may have to learn how to deal with an injury to or death of a parent. The impact that military service has on military kids can be overlooked as their service and sacrifice may not stand out the way it does for a parent in uniform.

The National Institutes of Health reports that children of deployed parents are at a greater risk of suffering emotional and behavioral problems; including stress and anxiety. TRICARE covers medically or psychologically necessary mental care, including counseling for children. TRICARE covers well-child care from birth to age six. Each well-child visit lets your doctor look for developmental delays or problems and for you to talk about any concerns you have.

Another resource to military families is Military OneSource. Military OneSource is available 24/7, 365 days a year, and offers resources on parenting skills and support. The site also offers a health and wellness coaching program and telephonic, face-to-face, online and video non-medical and financial counseling.

Physical and mental wellness are equally important. As the national rate of childhood obesity increases, TRICARE wants to ensure military children and their families have the tools necessary to lead healthy and active lifestyles. Beneficiaries can visit TRICARE online for tools and resources for healthy living that provide steps to get healthy and can help prevent illness and injury. Operation Live Well (OLW) is a Department of Defense initiative to help the military community adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. OLW aims to empower the military community to make better nutritional choices, increase physical activity, decrease tobacco use and lose weight.

As we take this month to salute military children and celebrate their strength, TRICARE will focus on the health and well-being of our military kids. Make sure to use the many available resources, programs and services through TRICARE, the Department of Defense and its various partners to provide the support our military children and families deserve.

Information provided by TRICARE.
Visit TRICARE online for more information about TRICARE’s behavioral health and well-child benefits, or go here for the original article.