Music, mental health and the military child

a daughter of a 38-year Air Force veteran and the sister of a Air Force pilot, I am no stranger to military life.

My life began at a military hospital, the former Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB. When I was 2 weeks old, my family relocated to Washington, D.C., where my dad served as deputy commander of the U.S. Air Force Presidential Honor Guard. We returned to San Antonio — Military City, USA — a few years later to make our home.

I count myself blessed for not having to move every two years throughout my childhood like most military “brats.” I do know, though, how it feels to hug your dad and brother for what might be the last time as they deploy to war-torn lands.

While our brave military members are sacrificing their very lives, their families are making sacrifices of their own.

Children are missing a parent on Christmas while wondering whether that parent will ever return home. Spouses are missing a partner and doing double the work while trying to keep it together for the kids.

Many families are in survival mode, just trying to make it through the day without falling apart, because the anxiety of losing a loved one in the military is not a far-fetched, irrational one.

April is Month of the Military Child. And as we celebrate the military child, we must better understand the needs of the military child. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy

of Needs, we first acknowledge that the child’s physiological and safety needs must be met. How do we do this?

First, we must ensure that every military family is equipped to meet their basic needs, such as meals, shelter and clothing. We must ensure that each military family has a safe place, not only physically but also emotionally. If one does not feel safe, one cannue

not build a fulfilled life.

How do we help alleviate some of the unique anxieties that burden many military families? How do we approach the military child who barely knows what anxiety is, much less how to regulate their own emotions?

Many intervention avenues are available to benefit the individual child and meet their unique needs. However, one aveAs

that has shown to provide a more holistic, less invasive path toward emotional healing is music.

The American Music Therapy Association says music as a healing influence affecting health and behavior is “as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato, and in some cultures, long before that.”

Bringing it home

Here are some at-homefriendly music activities you can implement with your kids, including teens, to help relieve anxiety.

Put on familiar tunes covered by instruments:

These are available on YouTube, Spotify, Pandora or wherever you stream or download music. Listening to familiar melodies played on calming instruments can serve as a means of grounding — a common practice using any combination of the five senses to relieve anxiety.

Joyfully move the body to upbeat music: Whether moving your body in a choreographed way or shaking and wiggling freely to music, this can provide a healthy outlet for the expression of emotions such as anxiety and anger. Blast those speakers and let the music lead your body.

Sing along to your favorite song: Singing regularly has been shown to not only boost mood but to improve lung capacity and other physical functions. Turn on that favorite tune and sing like nobody’s listening.

I am asked whether parents should monitor the kind of music their kids are listening to. I’d encourage parents to deem whatever they interpret to be appropriate as such for their children. But I see songs of merit in all genres of music.

Courtesy of Clarity Child Guidance Center Meeting the needs of military children goes beyond providing the basics. Music therapist Caroline Melcher, above, explains how music and dance can play an important role in easing anxiety.