Many of us have experienced a friend, brother, sister, mom, dad, or close relative get sent overseas to fight a war. For our generation it is the War on Terror in the Middle East and for past generations it has been World War One, World War Two, and many other battles that have taken the lives of many and caused many psychological problems such as post- traumatic stress for others. Many times this damages families in ways that cannot be reversed. One may ask how children are affected by family members not being present in highly critical stages of development for children. Many of us have different relationships with our parents but for me I know that my dad could not teach me some things that my mom did and vice versa. There are critical times that parents should be present in a child's life not saying they shouldn't always be present. A child is most impressionable from the sensorimotor stage till the formal operation's stage. This is a time in which parents need to be there and active with their kids. It is very hard for young children to not have a mom or dad for a year. Many times soldiers do not see their family for a year or more which is way too long. It is inevitable to be deployed if you are enlisted in the armed forces but there should be a change on how long deployments are or the addition of time where a soldier can fly home not just for the child's mental health but also the soldier's.
