On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Military Divorce on Monday, October 10, 2016.
As a service member in our country’s armed forces, you have likely learned many valuable lessons about hard work and discipline. After all, the habits and values espoused in the military are intended to help you get through the most challenging situations imaginable. But did you ever stop and consider how the techniques used for military training can be effectively applied for parenting purposes?
A Marine Corps master sergeant who is a former drill instructor concedes that it can be a lot harder to get a toddler to pick up after himself than to get 90 recruits to follow orders. However, he also believes that core principles can be used for raising a child. But it is important to remember that you are looking for long-term results and the goal is self-discipline.
To help a child develop self-discipline, it is important that he or she has structure and, when necessary, imposed discipline. For the master sergeant, imposed discipline, which is used when his child misbehaves, does not include corporal punishment. Rather, the child will have things he values confiscated and then returned the next day.
But the master sergeant emphasizes that correction is not the same as punishment. The Marine Corps doesn’t believe in dishing out punishment every time a recruit makes a mistake. Honest mistakes are not something to get upset about.
While you may be able to use your military experience to help your children grow into responsible adults, you cannot necessarily control the course of your marriage. And if you are facing a divorce, you may be concerned about your child custody and visitation arrangements.
An experienced military divorce attorney could act on your behalf in an effort to help you get the custody terms you desire. The attorney can help demonstrate to the court that your parenting skills are a valuable asset and that it is in the child’s best interests that you continue to play a prominent role in his or her life.
