Joey & Carla Link
July 2, 2025
How would you define the word “patriotic” if someone asked you what it means? As those of you who regularly read the Parenting Made Practical blogs know, I like to define words. It gives me a whole new perspective when I know what the word actually means.
“Patriotic”, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “feeling love and loyalty for your country. It’s about being proud of your nation and its values, and wanting it to do well.”
To be patriotic is learned, and you can’t depend on schools to do this for your kids anymore, as in public schools many no longer salute the flag with the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and history books are being rewritten thanks to being politically correct. So it is up to parents to pass the feeling of being patriotic on to your kids.
We will never forget going to our Nation’s capital with Joey’s father and walking with him through the war memorials. Each war Americans have fought in has a memorial there. Joey’s Dad served in WWII, something he rarely talked about. When I (Carla) asked him to explain the significance of the medals he had earned he just looked at me with pain in his eyes and said they didn’t mean much to him, for how could he get medals when so many of his army buddies never came home.
He told me he didn’t deserve any honor for being one of the lucky ones who survived. It may not be a big deal to you, but we think it is important that our future generations don’t forget who they came from. God thought it was important too, commanding the Children of Israel to build memorials for events He wanted them to remember. We have the flag they draped over Granddaddy’s casket when he died in a special case Joey made for it. I made a picture collage from photos he had of that time hanging on the wall in our hallway so our kids and now our grandkids would never forget he was willing to die in combat so our country would continue to be free.
So, how do you teach your kids to be patriotic?
- Make sure they can say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the Star-Spangled Banner
- We have a community memorial for men and women in our area who lost their lives in a war. On Memorial Day and the 4th of July, go to the store and get a flower bouquet and with your family go lay it there. Ask your kids why it is important to stop a minute and honor those who lost their lives serving our country.
- Wear red, white and blue on the 4th of July and have your kids do so too.
- You can sing “God Bless America” as a family as you watch fireworks on July 4th. You might be surprised at how many others will join in with you.
- Pray for our country as a family. Ask your kids how you as a family can honor being an American.
- Write letters to soldiers who are currently serving and deployed.
- Why not try to find out who in your family served in wars fighting for our country’s freedom?
- When your kids are 8 and above, plan a trip to Washington D.C. and visit the War Memorials. The one for the Korean War is hauntingly beautiful yet important to see as it is life-size statutes running into the enemy line. Can you image what those men on the front lines thought? They knew they would most likely not survive, yet they kept on running. Ask your kids why?
- Plan a trip to Boston and walk the Freedom Trail with your kids. They will learn more on that route about the birth of our country than they ever will from a textbook. Gettysburg is close by there too. These are all National Parks and rangers do reenactments that make that time period come alive. We made these trips the focus of our kids’ history lessons when we homeschooled.
“Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not put in power.”
Romans 13:1 (The Living Bible)
Have you listened to this Mom’s Notes?
How you choose to honor being an American in your family is part of what identifies you as a family. Have you ever thought about establishing patriotic family traditions other than watching fireworks?
Parenting Made Practical Podcast
#105 Teaching Kids the Value of Respect
To be respectful is to treat others the way you want to be treated, and valuing their feelings and opinions. It is to treat something like it is of high value to you and you find ways to honor the people and things you respect. Joey & Carla share how to teach your kids the value of being respectful to themselves, their parents, siblings, grandparents, authority figures, peers, and much more.