General Q&A

What is Military Kids Connect®?

Military Kids Connect is an online community for military children ages 6-17, and provides access to age-appropriate resources to support children dealing with the unique psychological challenges of military life. MKC offers informative activities, fun games, helpful videos, and an online community that can build and reinforce understanding, resilience, and coping skills in military children and their peers. Today's military kids grow up in a world where they face unique challenges such as multiple deployments of important family members and frequent moves to new schools and neighborhoods. They need a unique set of skills to draw on to get through long and often difficult separations and situations. MKC helps children prepare for the challenges faced during these significant family transitions. Through videos, activities, and participation in MKC's monitored online forums, children can share their own ideas, experiences, and suggestions with other military children, helping them to know they are not alone in dealing with the stresses of military life. MKC's parent and educator tracks provide information to help adults understand what it takes to support military children at home and school. Safety is our number one priority. To keep children safe while using MKC, we pre-moderate all online forums to ensure no personally identifiable information is present. Additional information on safety measures can be found in our Privacy Policy.

How is Military Kids Connect different from other websites for kids?

Military Kids Connect is different from other websites for kids in several ways. The website is:

• Developed by psychologists. 
• The only Department of Defense website intrinsically designed to help military children face unique life challenges (such as deployment).
• Intended for use by military children, tweens, and teens directly.
• Updated regularly based on direct user feedback.

What is the value to users of Military Kids Connect?

Military Kids Connect helps enhance the resilience of military children via a pre-moderated social network that connects military kids and enables opportunities for peer support; documentary-style videos that capture the experience of military youth; and instructional vignettes to provide guidance as youth face age-specific dilemmas. The website's overarching design is intended to promote learning through skills development.

Why Military Kids Connect?

Military kids need a comfortable online space to connect with their peers and helpful resources. Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have affected nearly 2 million military children. Research literature as early as 2010 suggests military youth experience distress and emotional difficulties before, during and after a parent's deployment. Presidential Study Directive-9 (PSD-9), “Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America's Commitment (January 2011)” called for a Government-wide effort to "enhance the well-being and psychological health of the military family." Military Kids Connect supports this effort.

Can I get a speaker or promotional materials for my event?

To arrange for a speaker or promotional materials from Military Kids Connect, please contact us using the "Contact Us" link on the bottom menu bar.

Safety Q&A

What type of social network is on Military Kids Connect and how do you keep my child safe?

The Military Kids Connect social network includes pre-moderated commenting where users can post comments or questions and other users can respond. MKC moderators review all user-generated content prior to posting, and edit or delete any material deemed inappropriate. Commenting can include reviews of MKC videos, questions to the MKC user community, and replies to other user's posts. There is no login or registration required to post or view comments.

What if inappropriate content is shared by children?

Continuous electronic filtering and pre-moderation of all comments will remove inappropriate content.

How is user privacy protected?

Military Kids Connect complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Children have the option to post content as an anonymous user or create a username for each session. No personal identification information is collected. In order to participate in online postings, users must agree to community rules. All online posts are pre-moderated and any inappropriate or suspicious posts are removed and sent to appropriate authorities when needed.

Do you collect information about users?

No. Military Kids Connect complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). No personal identification information is collected.

How are users protected from online predators or cyberbullies?

Users are protected through pre-moderation of all online postings. Any predatory or bullying content is not allowed to be posted. No personal identification information is required or allowed to be posted publicly. Because the site does not collect any personal identification information, predators or cyberbullies cannot gain such information.

Will other kids know who I am?

No. No personal identification information is stored or posted on the website. We use filters and moderators to protect you from revealing personal information that would identify you.

Technical Q&A

Do I need an account to use the site?

No, you do not need a user account.

Do I have to use a particular browser?

This site works optimally with Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 3.6+ and Chrome.

Do I need special software to watch videos or play games?

You may have difficulty viewing videos over slow internet connections, such as dial-up or low-bandwidth wireless connections. If you use Norton Personal Firewall or Norton Internet Security, you may need to adjust your settings at the Norton ad-blocking settings adjustment page.

How do I submit online comments?

All ages of military youth can submit online posts. After you view any of the MKC videos, you can submit a comment about the video. On the Message Board, you can start a conversation on just about any topic you like — or join in on other youth's topics. All comments are pre-moderated, so you will need to check back in a day or so to see your post.

When submitting comments, you'll be asked to submit your comment anonymously or create a username for that session. Usernames must be made-up or silly names, since any username suspected of being a real name will be changed to anonymous by the moderators. You'll also have to agree to the User Agreement and follow the simple rules of the community.

I just submitted a comment but I don't see it. Why not?

All comments are pre-moderated. After you submit your comment, moderators will review the content before allowing it to be viewed by others. Moderators will generally review all submitted comments within one business day. Check back the next day to see your post.

I'm having technical problems. Who do I contact?

If you are having technical problems, please use the "Contact Us" link on the bottom menu bar. Note that we only check the "Contact Us" account periodically so an immediate response is not likely.