Going to the recruiter with my son?

[MissUAlready]

I scheduled the 1st meeting with the recruiter on behalf of my 17 yo son. I thought because he is a minor I would have to be there; and because I am his mom I WANT to be there. He can be somewhat niave and I don't want him to get persuaded.

I was speaking with someone about the appointment and they asked if I should go with him or if that would make him look like a baby. My first reaction what...wut? This person can be VERY opinionated and backwards with this stuff...but I thought I would throw it out there because I have been accused of "babying" my son too much.

Did you go with your child to the recruiter meeting?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.
Stacey

[davetdu]

Do your son a favor and take him to the Air Force recruiter. I wish I would have done that for myself.

[MissUAlready]

Why Air Force? Did you mean Navy?
He was torn between Navy and Air Force and decided on Navy.
As others have mentioned on this site. The recruiter told us yesterday that there is a 6-9 month delay on most jobs.
He can rush to get all his papers together for this Thursday to go take the test in another state. I didn't realize that would be required and I am not sure how I feel about it. I told my son there is not THAT much of a rush if he is going to have to wait 6-9 months anyway. Why not take some time to prepare for the ASVAB and get things in order? My son agrees. My concern is the recruiter will interpret this as my son is not really serious about this. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks,
Stace

[navywoman16]

I'm prior Navy. I set up my son's first appointment. I knew the Senior Chief before my son did, LOL. It was good. I let them know that I was all up for what the Navy offered as long as they were up front didn't lie to him and he was 22. LOL I also told Senior I knew where he was if there was a lie given.

Go with your son. The recuiter's likes to know that they have answered all the parents concerns as well as the potential sailor's questions.

Tell your son in front of the recuiter the moto "Always expect the worse so that if you get the best your the happiest person in town." Then tell the recuiter to make sure he knows all the bad and good. Then talk to the Senior Chief, tell him a Master Chief told you to introduce yourself and son and want to ask any questions you might not have felt you either didn't get a full answer or not a entirely truthful answer. He'll make sure you do. GOOD LUCK

[navymom58 - Shelton's Mom]

My son joined DEPS at 17 right before his senior year of high school as well. My husband and I had many talks about the various branches of service. A friend of ours is a retired Chief Petty Officer and he took him to lunch and spoke with him and loaned him all kinds of wonderful books as well as some of his year books from his "ship" days. He wanted one of us to go with him so my husband went to the recruiting office with him for the initial visit. We also had concerns about him siging anything without fully understanding what he was signing. After that, my husband and I BOTH went during lunch and met with his recruiter to ask some more questions that I had come up with....you know how Moms are!!! We also were made to feel very welcome and the recruiter understood my concerns as a mother which really made me feel good about the whole thing. The day he went to MEPS was my first test as he had never spent the night away from us in another city!! I was so proud of him when he returned officially sworn in! The year has flown by and he leaves for Boot Camp in two weeks.

Good look and keep us posted!

Robin

[gmotm2008]

I went with both my daughter and my son. I made a point of sitting back, listening closely and asking pertinent questions. I let the kid do the talking, interjectec on occasion but handled it in a way that the child felt in control. I also did not want the recruiter to feel that this was a mommas kid. This allowed me to have a speaking relationship w/the recruiter so that later if neeed I could go to him/her with my questions and I knew my cild wasn't being railroaded r snowed.

[bozman]

If your son is 17 he has to get a parental consent before joining anyway. The recruiters will want to talk to you, I would suggest letting him go to the first meeting on his own ( assuming he can find it ), who knows maybe they can make him a Quartermaster. A good recruiter will want you on his side, your buy in is important to make sure things go well while he is in DEP. If he needs to retake the ASVAB he should study and do that. The longer he waits however the longer it will be before he ships

[MissUAlready]

Yes, I went and they were very receptive. They offered to come to the house for follow up visits.
He does need to retake the ASVAB and we were told (as someone mentioned previously in this chat) that it could be 6-8 months anyway because there are soooo many people enlisting.
He's been studying and we signed him up at the gym to get him physically fit too.

Thanks for all your replies and support.
Good luck to you and all your soldiers.
Stacey

[Mary, Proud Mom of Nick]

My hubby spent 10 years in the Navy so our son wanted him to be part of the process. Do NOT let anyone tell you that you should not be part of this life changing experience! This is a decision that your son should make and hopefully invite you to be part of the process, many parents attend this meeting. Often the recruiters will come to the home to meet with the parents - it just depends on the area and their local practices.

I have been told by recruiters that they are allowed to enlist at 17 years of age.

[Kathy]

I went with my son six years ago and he was glad I did. I made some lasting friends of the great men we met there that day. They respected the fact that all I wanted was what was best for my son. Go with him. When he joins the Navy you will become part of a much larger family along with him. Best of luck and God bless...

[T's mom]

well my sailor.Gave the family a surprise when he joined.he quit college and the same day he quit college he also announced that he joined the Navy.He was 20 at the time.After the shock of both sets of news at the same time.I contacted his recruiter and they had us sit down at the office and he went over everything.They were very supportive and wanted to make sure we were on board with his decision.He was in DEP for 8 months so that gave us some time to soak it all in.I would go with but let your son and the recruiter do all the talking.I know that will be very dificult to just sit there.But this shows the military that hes ready to make some very important decisions on his own.

[Robin A]

My son is 18 and was nearing graduation. He had spoken to a recruiter the year before when they visited the high school. He asked me to go with him. I went on many occasions and our recruiters welcomed the parents. They actually encouraged the kids to bring their parents. I am grateful my son wanted me involved every step of the way. I was the other set of ears and support person. It was his decision to make. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The recruiters said they don't have many parents involved and they really like it. They said it showed what kind of families their recruits came from. The day my son was shipped out, there were 2 young men who had no-one there to witness their swearing in, nor say goodbye at the airport. My younger son and I invited them to join our "group" that was there to see my son off. They were already bonding. I wished them luck as they went through security and offered encouragement. They actually asked if I was going to be at graduation because they were going to look for me.

[Sheri - Mom of Sailor Zack]

I made the initial contact and appointment with the recruiter for my son. I also then went with him to the first meeting. The recruiter was super nice and I just sort of hung out in the background and listened. My son was 17 at the time. He joined the DEP and now leaves next week. Since then I have stopped in alone several times to see the recruiter, he has been to our house, I e-mail or call him any time I have a question. Sometimes when my son is there, the recruiter calls me to answer the questions I sent down with my son. When I run into him and his family in public, we always stop and visit. My son spends a lot of time with the recruiter at the office without me too, but I do not feel like I am overstepping my bounds. I even went to a DEP meeting one night and talked about NavyforMoms with all the kids!