Children have been involved from the start of the Syrian revolution.
But as the civil war enters it's third year, more and more children are becoming involved in the day-to-day fighting.
Many of the boys follow their parents into the war.
Reporters on the ground say of the rebel forces: "most are young civilians, some 16 or 17 years old."
Boys as young as 12 have been reported on the battlefield.
Some are younger than that.
Young boys who cannot handle weapons are used to carry supplies for the rebels.
This boy runs to avoid sniper fire.
And feeding ammunition for artillery.
Many of the teenagers are snipers.
Because of their endurance and good eyesight.
There is formal training for these boys...
... so they will be competent on the battlefield.
They fight in bedrooms that could be their own.
And use basketball courts they could be playing on as a location to fire mortars.
They sleep wherever they can.
They sleep in classrooms that they just graduated from.
This is how they shower.
And this is how they swim... sometimes in captured pools and sometimes in craters left by bombs.
They are wounded along with the older solders.
And they keep photos of their families with them.
And no matter how macho they act...
... they are still kind of just kids.
Kids with play things.
And while the boys fight, the girls wait in long lines for humanitarian aid.
For these children, their country has changed forever.
But the question remains how long will the devastating war rage on?
I hope not long.
