Would you let your child join the army.......?

april

Well; having lived my entire life as a Military brat and then a Military wife I know without a doubt the most important thing to a Military member is support from loved ones. No, if my son wants to join the Army when he grows up I won't discourage him from doing so. He's nine and tells my husband and I that's what he's going to do when he's a grown up. Most kids his age want be whatever their parent is, though; so who knows. It's not my job to tell him what to do with his life when he's an adult. My job is to be there and support and love him. I will always worry about my children no matter what they choose to do; but that doesn't make it okay for me to try and manipulate their choices to make me happy. If what they are doing is legal and makes them happy then I have to learn to accept what they choose to do even if it's not what I would choose for them. The end goal when raising children is having well adjusted adults that can function and contribute to the real world. It's unreasonable to expect them to live their life as an adult trying to make me happy instead of themselves.

amazin'g

She already did, and I respect her decision. She'll tell you it's the best thing that she ever did. She's now career Army, a combat medic, and she served a year in Iraq. Don't stand in the way of what your adult children want to do. It's their life, not yours.

harry

i did , he went and came back and enjoyed it , and he would go back

ritzysmom

Yes I would, with great pride. I would not expect another mother's child to defend my country if I were not willing to do the same. I would worry about them,. but there are a lot of civilian jobs that my child could go into that I would worry about them as well.

McFurry

I wouldn't be happy about it, But if that's what they really wanted to do with their life and they completely understood the implications of that then who am I to stand in the way of of what they believe will make them happy.

Korky

As much as we love them, you have to let them make there own decisions in the end,
its hard but you have to let go, and trust them.

kisser

I watched a telly program and saw a mother's grief, her son was killed in Afghanistan.It brought tears to my eyes and I felt very sad for that woman. My mother didn't try to stop me joining the army and I thank her for her courage as I know she was worried sick when I was "overseas".
If my son wants to join the army I wouldn't try to stop him as he is an adult and it will his choice , a good one too as soldiering is an honourable job and I'd prefer that choice to him being out of work and getting into scrapes with the layabouts around here.

Facile Princeps

Yes I would be immensely proud if my children joined the military

susie x â™¥â™¥â™¥

Good question. I have been thinking about this a lot recently. My son is only 11 so its a long way off but I dread the thought of him going into the services. I hope and pray that if he does, he comes out again unscathed.

jim

No way. Not only would I not try to talk them out of it I would encourage them to join. A few years in the military will teach responsibility and maturity, make your child brave and self sacrificing. It can turn a child into an adult and can offer a great lifestyle, plenty of travel, good friends, and real career prospects and he can further his education while in the forces.

Scott S

well considering i am in the Army ; i think i am going to donate him to them in about 16 years

Loz

no i would not stop them, think its a brave choice to make in life,

artilleryman89

I say let them do what they want with their lives. Maybe some of us want to "fight to the last drop of blood" for our country. I would rather die fighting than of something stupid like a car accident.

ya_staff_sux

Once the child is 18 the choice is his/hers not the parents

guzzlegob

I wouldn't talk her out of it but I would make sure I encourage her to get trained in to a trade so should she ever want to leave she can do something other than being a security guard!

Alicia L

It's your child's decision. You say "having the possibility to be sent to war"...what other purpose would they have? The military defends the country. Sometimes that means war. It's a fact of life.

Curtis B

I would not only support that decision, I would almost force them to do it. I believe that without understanding what it means to sacrifice yourself for something greater than yourself, civilization will cease to exist. Discipline, teamwork, and a sense of duty are the greatest virtues in the world, virtues the baby-boomers have been trying to destroy since the sixties.

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse."
-John Stuart Mills

Articled

I would, yes. I would even be proud that I raised a kid that is that selfless to want to serve. Just like I'm proud of my ancestors that served. But in any case, I'd be thankful that I live in a country where I have to answer these types of questions.

RTO Trainer

Military life is not for everyone. If I believed my child was not suited to military service, I'd tell tehm so and try to point out why.

On the other hand, without such indications I'd actively encourage them to serve.

In either case, just posessing the desire to serve is something that would make me extremely proud and I'd be sure that they knew that too.

H-man

I would encourage any child of mine to pursue a career they wished.

tto

personally i wouldn't like any of my sons/daughters to join the army,but i wouldn't stop them,its their choice,you bring them up to be independent,also wherever they go in life you never know what could happen to them.

forgivebutdonotforget911

Yes.

During the Vietnam War we drafted 18 year olds and sent them off to war, and they turned around and asked why are they old enough to fight and die for their country but they are not old enough to vote?

So we lowered the voting age to 18. If we consider them old enough to vote, then they are old enough to join the Army.

Your question indicates you do not think your child at 18 is old enough to make decisions for himself. He probably did more research on the subject than you did, therefore he can make a more informed decision than you can. You probably are basing your objections only on "there is a war going on" and "I do not like Bush."

If you child joins, and dies in combat, are you going to respect his decisions as an adult or are you going to do as Cindy Seehan and disrespect your son's memory? Will you bury him in a civilian cemetery as a form of protest of his decision or will you see to it he gets buried with full military honors in a national cemetery?

He is an adult, treat him as such. If you are going to argue, try arguing as an adult and not with the comments you posted here. You are coming across rather childish.

Dicko

My duaghter wants to join the RAF and train as a fighter pilot!

That is to some extent my fault, as I am an aircraft enthusiast, and love military aircraft of all types and all periods.

She, however, will be approaching adulthood at the time she will make her first serious contact with the RAF, and I have to respect her wish, if it is maintained, to follow her own career path. I know from personal experience how destructive it can be when parents, with often the best of intentions, decide that they know best what their adult child should do. I didn't do it, and didn't speak to my father for ten years as a result. But I did end up following my own path - just as he had done in 1941 when his mother tried, and failed, to stop him joining the RAF.

Some children may not have the willpower, courage or simple bloody-mindedness necessary to make a stand against a parent who is fighting to their last drop of blood.

I do understand why; if I lost one of my two daughters, I would be devastated. I do know what it means. But for the last thousand years, my ancestors, and myself, have at one time put on our uniforms and picked up our weapons; some have fought, some have not. All were willing, all were prepared.

That is why we British have not been subjugated for a thousand years. The cost has been high, and it is possibly being squandered at this very moment by our politicians, but we are free, ourselves, in our own country, with our own ideals and values.

Sometimes, people forget what we have given to the world - democracy, human rights, rule of law, parliaments... These all had their start here, and would have been destroyed if Britain had ever submitted to any of our numerous aggressors.

Some things you have to be prepared to defend, not just for yourself, but for those future generations which you cannot even imagine yet.

So if she joins, I will be very proud of her - and worry myself sick in private. But she will not know that.

Dan

Im joining the army soon and would be upset if one of my parents tried to convince me that I was doing the wrong thing because its my life and my choice. Even if my Mom is secretly upset about me going to war she dosen't let me know her feelings and will be proud of me for going to do what I want to do in life. My Dad is just proud of me although he probably also wishes secretly it wasn't happening

allen a

the army does not accept children,once they turn 18 it is out of your hands.I would not be happy,however I would support him/her.

the devil wears camo

damn good question young lady,bound to upset a few on here but so what,too many answers on this of a personal nature and a case of some people not seeing the question for what it is,so,having got that off my chest heres my answer,if my son /daughter expressed a desire to enlist then i would like to think that they would have looked long and hard at their reasons for coming to their decisions and therefore i would not try and stop them,in all honesty,as an ex-marine how could i?I'm not saying that i would be happy about it because as a father the worry is always there but id be proud at the same time,this is an individual thing and should be viewed as such and your right to ask such a question and give your opinion should be respected,

frankturk50

Yes I would encourage it just as my parents did me.

nosdda

In the early 50sI served in Malay as a National Serviceman on Active service fighting in the Jungle, alongside many more National Servicemen. What sort of a Namby Pamby generation are we raising when parents are afraid of their kids doing a bit of Army service. Not all Army regiments or Corps are fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq.. I was wounded in Malaya and was hospitalised for 6 weeks, then back to the front line. If your lad wants to join, Let him, he will be okay and you will be proud of him.

cordeliabrainiac

Freedom isn't free....why is it okay for other people to defend your country but not you or your child?

proud nerd

I would make my feelings clear on the subject, and try ot ensure that my child had considered all options, but I wouldn't fight too hard. It's not my choice and I would be proud of him for wanting to do some good for the world. After all, if no one volunteers, we end up drafting - and that would be worse for the country AND for the war.

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