Luc took this to heart. Every night he made sure all the doors were locked so his mother and 14-year-old sister, Lyndsey, would be safe. He took out the garbage and looked after the family dog. He also had a pointed talk with Lyndsey's boyfriend, telling the boy to be nicer to his sister.

Last month, Luc, who lives in Galena, Ill., went to a summer camp in Iowa. It was hard for him when other kids' dads showed up on visiting day. Still, the camp was a nice respite for Luc. He was able to take a break from being "the man of the house" and just be a boy again.

More than 140,000 children have parents serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, and thousands of these kids are now attending summer camps. Like other campers, they are maturing as summer passes. But because they're military kids, their emotions are heightened. It's not just that they're homesick for parents who aren't home. Many also feel a sense of relief (or guilt) because camp allows them to step back from the added responsibilities they're now shouldering in their families.

About 2,500 kids with parents in Iraq or Afghanistan are attending 23 free camps sponsored by the National Military Family Association and funded by Sears, Roebuck & Co. These camps have all the typical activities but also offer counseling to help kids handle the stresses of having a parent in harm's way.

To help them cope, some military families have embraced technology. Bunk1.com, a company that posts online photo galleries and provides email services for 2,000 camps, says hundreds of military families now use its services. Parents can visit the Web to see photos and video clips of their children at camp. And kids' letters and drawings can be sent digitally to parents stationed overseas. The cost is $1 per correspondence.

Luc received several Bunk1 "bunk notes" from his dad in Kabul. His father tried to keep it light, starting some letters "Hey Goofball." Maj. Le-Grand thanked Luc for being helpful around the house: "You are the best son a dad could ever ask for." He also wondered: "Have you met any cute girls?" (Luc replied that he did meet a girl. She had blond, curly hair and danced with him at the camp dance.)

Most kids' fathers came to the "Camp Olympics," and Luc says it was tough not having his dad on the sidelines. "I'm better in sports when he's there. He pushes me and encourages me."

While in Afghanistan, Maj. LeGrand missed many other moments. Luc's mom, Lara, can tick them off: "Before my husband left, Luc didn't have braces. Now he does. Lyndsey had braces. Now she doesn't. Luc had been playing flag football. Now he plays tackle football."

Luc also blossomed as an assertive and loving kid brother. His sister's boyfriend laughed when Luc gave him that little talk, but since then, the boy has been kinder and more attentive.

Tracking milestones through letters and photos from camp can be bittersweet for those overseas. In Al Taqaddum, Iraq, Maj. Susan Shapiro used Bunk1 to communicate with her only child, 12-year-old Trent, at a camp in Utica, Miss. In camp photos, "I am hoping to see my little boy, but what I see is a young man," wrote Maj. Shapiro last week in an email interview.

Her Army Reserve unit left the U.S. last December, and both she and Trent try not to dwell on how much they miss each other. "I have cried at night because I could not hold him or just touch his hand," Maj. Shapiro said. Seeing how he has grown, she said, keeps triggering memories of "his first steps, his first words, his first trophy."

Trent says he and his father, who is also in the Army Reserve, "clean the house, but it doesn't look as good as when my mom cleans." He tries not to think about the possibility that his dad's unit also will be deployed.

His mother, who has been in the military since 1989, switched from one Army Reserve unit to another last year because the second unit was closer to the family's home in Huntsville, Ala. "She changed because she was thinking of us," says Trent. Three days later, while in the new unit, she was activated. Trent sees the irony: His mother wouldn't be in Iraq "if she hadn't been thinking about us."

Trent appreciated when fellow campers said they hoped his mom doesn't get hurt in the war. He told them that his mother's unit is set to return home in December. He has her homecoming planned out: "We'll get a nice juicy steak. The next day, we'll go golfing. Then we'll relax."

Maj. LeGrand returned home to Galena last week. Luc had vowed to give his dad a giant hug and then take him to the town swimming pool to show off the flips and dives he'd perfected at camp. That's just what he did. Having happily surrendered the "man of the house" title back to his father, he splashed around like an exuberant 11-year-old.