Brat

With hundreds of thousands of current and former military brats in the United States, their lives as children of service members are surprisingly little documented. Reading about the experiences of fellow brats can help these children of warriors understand both themselves and the unique world in which they were raised. Learning of the challenges that these children face will also help the general population consider how to honor and to help those whose lives were shaped by the military without volunteering or being drafted. This book explores the military brat experience as reflected in novels intended for adults, adolescent fiction, autobiographies and biographies, and highlights the common elements: frequent moves, the ever-present sense of danger, the potential loss of the service member, and isolation from the larger civilian world. By understanding the lives of brats, we can better understand the very real costs--beyond the lives of service members themselves--that families bear in the name of our collective freedom and security.

Military brats' childhoods are often scarred by alcoholism, abuse, and an ever-present threat of a parent's loss to war. This eye-opening, sometimes shocking exploration tells what life is really like for the stepchildren of Uncle Sam. A new recovery group, Adult Children of Military Personnel, Inc., has been formed as a direct result of this book's publication.

Raising a brat is easy! Basically, it's only 11 easy steps. Follow them carefully, or perhaps even randomly, the results will amaze you. Or, ask yourself the filtering question of "Will it matter in ten years?" to guide you to raise an adolescent who can cope with life. The decisions you make and the perspective you keep on the day to day interactions with your child is incredibly powerful. 11 Easy Steps to Raise a Brat, The Great Adventure: The Parent Teacher Conference, A Middle School Kid Moved in Last Night, The Big Scary World, and It's Just an Illusion: Making the Working Mom Thing Look Easy will pose insights that will invite you to reflect on the guiding question of "Will it matter in ten years?" every time you pick which battle to attend to while raising your child. The "battles" can be called "interactions" and these interactions start with your child's first breath. Hang on! It's a wonderful adventure! You have an awesome task at hand. The task will create decisions, actions, and reactions that will help you create the perfect brat or raise a decent kid. Ultimately, the choice is yours. And your parenting decisions matter!

Vols. for 1896-1897 contain as appendices papers relating to the part taken by military organizations of the state during the civil war, colonial records, 1664-1675, and muster rolls, 1664-1775.