The Original Way: How to Explain Veterans Day to a Child

Veterans Day is an official holiday that honors all the war veterans. Being on the 11th of November every year, it usually goes unnoticed by children. Besides the free day from school, they may not understand much of this day.

But how do we explain to a child what this day means? This holiday is not so child-friendly. It is important to keep in mind that it may raise some questions.

For example, you will need to explain geography (Where is the United Kingdom?). Also, you will talk about abstract concepts, like heroes. What is good or bad?

It is important to teach our children what strength and courage mean. But which is the best way to do this?

Start by Explaining What a Veteran Is

Veterans are honored in the United States more than in any other country. A lot of ceremonies and activities are organized to thank all the veterans for what they did for the country.

So, they may have seen how a veteran in uniform looks like. Start by explaining your kid that veterans don’t always wear uniforms.

They are great people that fought for the country and maintained the peace as well. On this day, we honor all the veterans who served the country, whether it was in times of war or peace.

Show your child pictures of soldiers or sailors. It is important to emphasize that are people who had long service in a certain field. And that they did this to protect the country.

What is Veterans Day?

After your child understood how much courage it takes to enroll in the army, you can start explaining the meaning of this day. You can take a beautifully colored calendar to help the retention of information.

Point on the 11th of November and explain to him that we celebrate Veterans Day on the same day, every year. Why so?

Because it started as the “Armistice Day”. It reminds us of the day when the United States signed the armistice with Germany and so World War I ended.

Depending on your child’s age, you can custom the story and offer the right amount of details. For sure there is a writer who tries to offer the best help to parents during this time of the year.

For an affordable price, you can find online books that are specially designed for children. They can help you create the best learning experience for your child.

Give Examples of Gratitude

Being a holiday that is always between Halloween and Memorial Day, you always still have some candies left. There are a lot of events organized to collect sweets left from Halloween and to send them to soldiers that are fighting for the country.

Take part in such an event with your children. Give them examples of gratitude. You can also ask him to draw something for soldiers.

Write a letter to soldiers together with your child, while discussing the importance of this behavior.  Explain to him the importance of this activity and discuss the feelings of others.

Tell him that the written letter will be read by a soldier. You can also get the help of a writing service that will help you with editing and proofreading.

Your child is in the early stages of developing the theory of mind. He now starts to understand that others have feelings too.

As the years will pass, he will understand Veterans Day more and more. An academic essay suggests that children imitate the behavior their parents adopt since they are the closest to the child.

He will grow up appreciating the efforts the others do for them. Those who enroll in military service and not only must be praised.

Why Do We Do This?

Explaining to your children why we have a day which honors all the veterans might seem difficult. But as we know now that every assignment which seemed difficult was actually easier, so is this explanation.

It is always important to find real examples that your child understands. Find examples of courage and strength within your family and community. Find an event where will be veterans present and will talk with children.

Like this, your child will have the opportunity of learning about the most courageous people that serve the country directly from one of them.

But as a writer or a student should avoid plagiarism, so you should avoid sending a wrong message to your child.

Conclusion

Difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day is that on the first one we celebrate the soldiers who died while fighting for the country.

On Veterans Day, we celebrate all the veterans, whether they served in times of war or of peace. Depending on your child’s age you can select the number of details offered.

You can tell him about World War I and how the Armistice Act was signed. You can offer more details about what soldiers do in times of war. It is important to honor the ones that helped the country.

They put their courage and strength to the country’s sake. And we often take it for granted and we think it is free. But at the same time, there are families who miss their fathers or mothers. And it needs a lot of strength to face this.

That’s why it is important to explain when and why we celebrate Veterans Day to your child. Give daily examples of gratitude and teach him to always appreciate the courage, the strength and the devotion soldiers have.