How to Raise Patriotic Kids

True patriotism is love of country, and love is expansive. There is no need for an opposing dislike of other countries or elitism. Rather, patriotism is a positive that increases the love and gratitude in our children’s lives. So, we can help our kids love their home all year, not just on the Fourth of July. Here are six ways to raise patriotic kids.

1. Experience the Country

The more we experience the people and places of the country, the more we will feel connected to it. These experiences come in countless ways.

Come to Know the People of America

The best place to start is with your neighbors. Get outside and visit. Chat, take cookies, or have your children play together. Build a fabric of friendship.

Come to know the diverse culture of America. See life through the eyes of America’s writers and artists. Visit cultural museums and historic districts of towns. Eat Chicago Hot Dogs and Idaho Potatoes. Recognize the vast array of people brought to America and appreciate their unique, yet shared, experiences.

Appreciate the Diverse Places of America

Again, start where you live and expand. Look up the top tourist destinations in your vicinity and expose your kids to those. Go camping or hiking. Pack up the kids and take a road trip. I absolutely love visiting State and National Parks. Swim in a lake, gaze at a skyline, or wrap your arms around an ancient tree. There is unfathomable beauty and diversity between the coasts of the United States.

2. Teach the History of the United States of America

Teach your children about the founding of America, the sacrifices of its people to protect peace, and the very real struggles and victories of the nation. A great place to start, especially if you haven’t read them in a while, is reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

I love to teach history through stories, both real and fictional, verbal and written. Story-telling is a very powerful tool in connecting people.

Visit Historical Sites with your children. Watch documentaries or history-based films. When possible, see events through the eyes of individuals, children, and the impact on generations that followed.

3. Connect Beyond the Fourth of July

I love the Fourth of July. I enjoy the parades, food, music, and, of course, the fireworks. However, we don’t have to limit our patriotic engagement to once a year.

Children learn and experience the world in diverse ways. We want to connect with them in all of those ways. Make experiences and history interesting and fun when you can.

Celebrate holidays with traditions. Sing patriotic songs like this one. Make American crafts like these. Visit, talk, ask questions, and write. Create your own poems. Act out true stories. Be patriotic far beyond Fourth of July fireworks.

4. Be Respectful

Unfortunately, respect seems to be a trait that more and more we expect from kids but forget for adults. However, our best teaching always happens through example.

Teach your children to respect our first responders, military men and women, and even our government leaders. We can disagree on politics yet remain respectful of people.

It is part of the genius of America that we have a system whereby we elect our government officials. Respect the process and participate in it. Become an educated, active citizen.

Fly a flag and teach your children how to fold it respectfully, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and put their hands over their hearts. Teach that the flag represents the people who have made and continue to make this country great.

5. Live Gratefully

At its heart, Patriotism is gratitude for the country and its people. There is so much to be thankful for, but here are just a few of the things that speak to my heart.

I am grateful for the beauty of this land. I have been awed by the Grand Canyon, the Redwood forests, the Oregon coast, and Mt. Rainier. I love the red rock of southern Utah and watching a storm move over the sprawling fields of the Midwest. I have seen waves lap, waterfalls crash, and streams meander.  This land has blessed me.

I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy in this country. We can talk how we please, worship where and when we want, and pursue our individual dreams. The American Dream is real. I love sharing the experiences of those who have overcome limiting factors and built a life for themselves. One of those stories is that of my Grandpa. I firmly believe that our future is ours. How grateful I am.

I am thankful for the people who sacrificed so that my life is what it is today. Those people start with my parents and go back hundreds of years. Those people also include the everyday workers at my children’s school, at the fire department, and at the grocery store.

6. Hope Fiercely

Perhaps connecting all these thoughts together, I am grateful for the hope that imbues every milestone of American heritage. It was hope that caused people to leave their homes in search of a new land of freedom, generation after generation. I imagine that hope for friendly relations spurred the Native Americans to teach the newcomers. The Founding Fathers created a document and culture they hoped would give their children and grandchildren freedom over their own destinies. Abraham Lincoln debated, Susan B. Anthony worked, Martin Luther dreamed, and John F. Kennedy shot for the moon all in hopes that their lives would have positive influence on those that followed.

That hope is alive today. We pass it to our children as we teach them to be grateful for those who have gone before and for the opportunities that surround us. As we raise our kids to be true patriots, we infuse their lives with love, gratitude, and hope.

Hope fiercely that as we live our lives and raise our children, we are passing on the best of the past and creating beneficial change for the future. We truly live in a land that gives us the opportunity to do so.

What does being a true patriot mean to you? How do you help your kids increase in love and gratitude for our country? Please share in the comments.

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