SEALKIDS By Dr. Gretchen McIntosh Executive Director, SEALKIDS, Inc. Navy SEALs are some of the most courageous and strong individuals in the world. SEALs make up just 1% of all Navy Personnel. While we may not always see what SEALs are up to because of their privacy and protection, SEALs are sent on missions daily that are unimaginable to most of us. SEALs spend up to 9 months of the year out of the home on mission and in training. With SEALs being gone for most of the year, their spouses and families must make sacrifices to keep SEALs on mission. Dad doesn’t get to come home at 5 pm and eat dinner with the family; SEAL families accept a unique normal and may need help to support children while one parent is away on life-threatening missions. Because even our bravest individuals need support, the National Nonprofit SEALKIDS exists to help provide additional team members and support for SEALs and their families.
Being an active-duty service member’s child is many things. Mostly it’s a challenge. I am so proud of my father for choosing to serve; but I won’t pretend it’s easy on the rest of the family. It’s a challenge in that deployments bring a natural fear of your parent not returning home. It’s hard when you see your friends lose loved ones. Emotional stress is always lurking around. We, military kids, learn to either push the stress down or use it to grow us. Deployments seemed harder the older I got. I moved a few times so changing schools had its challenges as well. Each school had new learning styles. I would often feel as though I needed to “catch up” to the new styles of learning. I was diagnosed with a neuro/ visual condition at a very young age that added to my struggles.
SEALs are never out of the fight, and neither is SEALKIDS. A SEALKIDS SUCCESS STORY Since 2011, SEALKIDS has helped over 1,000 children reach their academic goals across the USA. SEALKIDS works as a partner with parents, schools, and the Naval Special Warfare community to address the unique challenges faced by some of our heroes’ children. SEALKIDS, through its programs, supports the children of Naval Special Warfare—everyday kids living in extraordinary circumstances. This encompassing approach of academic testing, tutoring, therapy, advocacy, and enrichment fosters the success and wellbeing of the child, critically reducing family stresses and ultimately keeping today’s Navy SEAL in the fight. Lauren, a recent SEALKIDS graduate, shares her story: Being an active-duty service member’s child is many things. Mostly it’s a challenge. I am so proud of my father for choosing to serve; but I won’t pretend it’s easy on the rest of the family. It’s a challenge in that deployments bring a natural fear of your parent not returning home. It’s hard when you see your friends lose loved ones. Emotional stress is always lurking around. We, military kids, learn to either push the stress down or use it to grow us. 30
WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / APRIL 2022
Photo by Spring Dyer Photography
