How Robins Air Force Base celebrated Month of the Military Child, uplifts military children

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE — Military children serve alongside their parents, and on Robins Air Force Base, local organizations want them to know they don’t have to serve alone. 

The youth center, directed by Linda Cleveland, provides four main programs for school-aged children: school age care, open recreation, teen center and youth sports.

The school age care program includes before and after school care for children five to 12 years old, and provides transportation to and from school. Children’s social, physical and cognitive needs are met through this program.

The open recreation program includes pool, air hockey, video games, computers and a teen lounge and is available to pre-teens and teens.

The teen center is open after school and provides an advisory program and tutoring.

Youth sports clinics and camps are also offered through the youth center. Summer camps and lesson plans which include field trips to Atlanta and Statesboro are also available.

Parents have access to a family advocacy office and a family readiness center on base, which Cleveland has connections to.

“Any time a parent needs a resource, if I can’t help them, I’m going to send them to [Military and] Family Readiness Center. I’m going to send them to family advocacy, whatever they need,” she said.

The center provides activities year-round, but April is Month of the Military Child, giving even more opportunities for families to celebrate together. Cleveland explained that this month’s activities included a teen gaming night, purple pancakes before breakfast, tie-dyed shirt making, and a costume dance.

“Throughout this month will be a lot going on at the youth center: Lots of activities. Parents get to come in and sit with their kids. We have activities going on throughout the month. It’s just a great time,” she said.

Military children uniquely experience parental deployments, according to Cleveland, a military parent herself. Children either stay with their other parent or with relatives if their parent is single.

“One parent has to take care of the household while the other parent’s gone and and that’s hard for the kids to understand: when daddy’s gone, he won’t be coming home in the afternoon, and they just talk to him every now and then,” she explained.

Military children are also adaptable due to frequent relocations for new assignments.

“[For] most of them, it’s not the first time that they moved. But when they do get to the new base, of course, they’ve got to meet new friends. Everything is different. They’re in different environments, and that could be a very traumatic experience,” Cleveland said.

To facilitate smoother transitions for relocating families, Cleveland proactively contacts the youth centers at their destination bases, sharing pertinent information. Additionally, upon arrival, the base often pairs newcomers with existing children to foster immediate connections and ease the integration process.

“[I’ll] talk to them and give my parents the information for the program that’s at the new base that they’re going. They can send them information before they even get to the next base, to try to get the kids familiar with the area,” she said.

Open communication and strong relationships are essential to helping military children overcome challenges, according to Cleveland. She cites the example of a child who felt isolated and alone when their close father was deployed.

“Kids have to have a relationship with you before they feel comfortable talking to you … Once I built the relationship and my staff built the relationships, that’s when she overcame that challenge,” Cleveland said. “Yes, she still misses her dad, but she knew from talking to us on a daily basis that dad was coming back.”

Cleveland hopes military children know their challenges do not go unnoticed, and the youth center is there to help ease their struggles.

“We’re here to support you. We love you. I understand what you’re going through,” she said.

Cleveland also hopes that the community will show their support and recognize the bravery of military children. She encourages the community to offer activities for military families and praised Texas Roadhouse and the City of Warner Robins for their support of military families. The City of Warner Robins hosted a Month of the Military Child Celebration on April 24, and Texas Roadhouse offered free meals to military children.

“Military kids are unique. They’re special. They go through a lot more than kids [whose] parents are not in the military. They hold a lot on their shoulders. So I really hope [the community] could see that and give them extra love,” she said.

See more information about the Youth Center at robinsfss.com/youth.