Raising Healthy and Happy Military Children

Find support and resources to help you make choices to promote health and well-being for the entire family, from wholesome food choices and exercise to good sleep habits and more.

Food Assistance for Military Families

Discover smart strategies, trusted resources, food assistance programs and financial support to help your military family stretch your food budget and stay healthy and mission ready.

Start with nutrition.

Wholesome foods provide the building blocks for a healthy body and can even help us fight disease. If financial restrictions are affecting your family’s health and wellness goals, get assistance through these resources to help manage financial stress.

Help your child develop these healthy eating habits as early as possible.

Start with a nutritious breakfast.

Hungry children, youth and teens have shorter attention spans and can have difficulty with problem-solving, math skills and memory recall.

Serve up a balanced diet.

Be sure daily meals and snacks include:

A variety of fruits or vegetables — While recommended serving numbers and sizes vary, studies support centering meals and snacks around fruits and vegetables.
Whole-grain breads and cereals high in fiber — Make healthier, less processed alternatives like whole-wheat bread and brown rice available for snacks and meals.
Fat-free or low-fat dairy products — Low-fat milk, yogurt, string and hard cheeses, and cottage cheese are great sources of calcium and protein.
Lean proteins, such as eggs, poultry, unsalted nuts and seeds — Introduce hummus, quinoa, nut butters, beans, legumes, lentils and tofu, and serve leaner meats.

Choose water and low-fat milk over sweetened beverages.

Sweetened beverages, such as soda and sports drinks, are the number one source of added sugar in American diets.

Avoid giving juice to infants under 6 months.
Encourage children to eliminate sweetened beverages and reduce juice consumption.
Add berries or slices of lemon, lime or cucumber to water for added flavor.

Get smart about nutrition labels.

Help your child choose healthy foods at the store or commissary using these read-the-label materials developed specifically for children.

Tap into food and financial support.

If financial restrictions are affecting your family’s health and wellness goals, get assistance today.

Encourage physical activity.

Keep your body moving throughout the day.

Increase physical activity to one or more hours a day.
Decrease recreational screen time to two or fewer hours per day.
Explore the essentials about fitness and active living.

Build exercise into your child’s routine, including school recess periods, hiking, playing sports or walking to and from school. Get the blood pumping as a family. Play freeze tag or have a backyard relay race, walk the dog, toss a Frisbee, play Duck, Duck, Goose or take a short bike ride. Check out suggestions for overall health and ways for the whole family to get moving.

Explore family-friendly resources that promote activity.

Morale, Welfare and Recreation — Find options for local activities on your installation.
Installation youth centers — Explore youth-oriented environments and military youth and teen programs, available on almost every installation where families PCS.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America — Find activities for military-connected children, youth and teens both on and off installation.
Sesame Street for Military Families — Take a 90-second dance break with You’ve Got a Body.
ZERO TO THREE — Find suggestions for parent-child activities during playtime, as well as A Year of Play, through the Babies on the Homefront app.

Find summer programs, day camps and overnight camps through your installation youth center, War Department summer camps, 4-H Military Partnership camps and Military Teen Adventure Camps.

Promote good sleep habits.

Sleep is critical to good health.

Develop and maintain good routines throughout the day and into the evening to set the stage for a good night’s sleep, including consistent bedtimes and wake-up times, even on the weekends.
Have the entire family stop using electronic devices two hours before sleep as blue light has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns.
Develop bedtime rituals that include an hour of quiet time before bed.
Make sure sleeping spaces are comfortable and promote a positive sleep environment.

Create safe sleep environments for your infant.

There are things you can do to help your infant or toddler develop healthy sleep habits.

Get support for well-being.

Explore a host of tools and programs to help you along the parenting journey.

The New Parent Support Program provides supportive home visits to expectant parents and parents of young children and offers parenting education and support to help welcome your new child successfully. Contact your local Military and Family Support Center or Family Advocacy Program to get started.
Military OneSource articles and parenting resources offer information and tips on raising children.
DOW and TRICARE offer a range of pregnancy and parenting resources to support you and your family.
ZERO TO THREE offers parenting tips on many subjects including how to support communication skills so that your infant or young child can connect to and exchange ideas and feelings with others.

Military OneSource specialty consultants

Military OneSource specialty consultants help with health and wellness goals, education, adoption, special needs and more. Call Military OneSource 24/7 at 800-342-9647 or log in to start a secure live chat to get answers to your questions and access the resources you need.