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army brat? is that negative?

I am wondering what is the standard term for “army brats”.

I am writing a paper about TCK’s and I wrote about army brats. My teachers say I can not call them that. Should I use Military children or kids? I mean all the other types of TCKs are kids.. missionary kid, business kid, diplomat kid,…

For a research paper it is supposedly supposed to be more formal. I know brat is the casual term but what is formal.

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Posted by sky at 8:32 pm on March 12th, 2008. Comments
Categories: General Forum.

  • Ayako
    Try: 'army brat' (an endearment for dependents of military personnel)
  • cadpig
    I'm a brat and it's not negative at all. It's actually a term of affection/endearment for people like us. So, there's no formal term for it I'm afraid.
  • ray
    Sky,

    I'm a brat, my Mom was a brat, and my son is a brat (My Dad was a farm boy but made the Air Force a career). The term goes back a long way, and is generally well-understood in the "TCK community", which is probably going to be biggest audience.

    You can also find a semi-scholarly article on Wikipedia by typing the keywords "military brat" in the search box.

    Warning: Take the findings and opinions expressed in the Wikipedia article and Ms. Wertsch's book with a grain of salt. Some brats have experienced "The Great Santini Syndrome" [no space here to explain the term], and have been profoundly affected by it. Others - myself included - consider our unique upbringing in the military culture to be a blessing, and have absolutely no regrets over it.

    Good luck on your research.

    RJS
    Retired Army Lt. Col.
  • Sky,
    Military Brat is the name given to a child of a person serving in any one of the military branches.

    Mary Edwards Wertsch made the term "acceptable" and now used in many research papers when she wrote the book, "Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress" (see http://bratblog.brightwellpublishing.net/.

    Donna Musil named a documentary using the word "Brats" (Brats: Our Journey Home - see http://www.bratsourjourneyhome.com/)

    You might want to go to Mary Wertsch's website (see above) and ask your question there.

    Margie
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