War and how it Affects Children

I wanted to choose something that has affected my own children and our lives which is war. The way war has affected us is not the same as it has affected children in the city of Gaza which is in the country of Palestine. Children in those cities are seeing and fighting a war right in their own backyards. For my family they see war by experiencing their father leaving for deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, and to Japan. My husband has been on 11 deployments which last from 6 to 12 months. We have moved every 3 years and my children have experienced their dad being gone for over half of their childhood. Anxiety and stress for military children is very high. They become angry, frustrated, emotionally withdrawn and behavior problems seem to be on the rise in military daycares and preschools. I have 3 children and my husband has been in for over 16 years. At the age of 5 my oldest son was so angry and mad all the time that it became a real issue at school. I sought out counseling for him and for our family. My husband was gone most of the time and this took a big toll on my oldest son. My son was and is very close to my husband and he felt abandoned, alone, and withdrawn from my husband. The moving was also a big adjustment for our family. We literally moved every three years and this became more of an adjustment as our children entered school. By the time my oldest son was in 6th grade we thought he had ulcers. This was not the case, the stress and anxiety that he was experiencing was giving him stomach aches and affecting his sleep. He was attending Focus counseling groups at his school. Focus is counseling organization that goes to schools where there are at least 75% of the children enrolled are from military families. The doctor now put my oldest son on a small dose of medication to help him deal with the anxiety and stress of our recent move and the new school. My son still takes this medication at the age of 16, but he is able to sleep now and he no longer suffers from stomach aches or anxiety attacks. The effects of war does not stop with the active duty military the families serve too and the children take it sometimes the hardest. My children are resilient and they do not complain about moving or about having to say good-bye to their dad. My children do not know any different, but the effects of moving, their dad leaving, and knowing he is in a war zone is difficult for children to handle. Children in Gaza experience war in a different way. These children flee their homes and see their friends or family die. The stress and anxiety that children in Gaza face on a daily basis is overwhelming. These children see death daily and live in fear. The psychological damage on children resulted from personally witnessing traumatic events that could seriously impair their mental health. (Lendman, 2012) “For example: 1. 98% of children said they didn't feel safe. 1. 96% didn't think they could protect themselves. 1. 97% thought their families couldn't protect them. 1. 90% heard bombing. 1. 89% saw homes destroyed from it. 1. 65% were forced to evacuate their homes. 1. 61% saw their neighbors' homes bombed. 1. 54% were either physically detained in their homes by soldiers or were trapped inside them during bombings and/or shellings. 1. 55% said they were told that one or more of their family members or relatives were killed.” (Lendman, 2012) Psychologist Hassan Ziyada feels that “These children reported high levels of trauma and insecurity that will impact on the psychological and intellectual development…(They’re) suffering continual long-term trauma due to the psychological, social and economic effects of the war.” (Lendman, 2012) The war effect on children in Gaza is continuing to exhibit “long-term symptoms of hyperactivity, deterioration of their cognitive abilities, intrusive memories and hyper arousal and anxiety.” (Lendman, 2012) Psychologist Hassan Ziyada believes “Children will develop long-term depression from the loss of loved ones and friends that contribute to a feeling of abandonment. He also said, “They’re experiencing physical body pain, headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and aggressive behavior.” (Lendman, 2012) The effects of war are hard to endure. The children of these wars will be leading our countries, how will these wars affect their decisions. Reference Lendman, S. (2012). Zionist War Crimes against Gaza Children. Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Bridgades-Palestine. Retrieved from: http://www.qassam.ps/specialfile-329-Zionist_War_Crimes_against_Gaza_Children.html