Parenting can often seem like the endless repeating of one’s self. At the end of a long day, you can count on one hand the things you haven’t had to say twice. But maybe we don’t give our kids enough credit. We know they’re endless sponges, so they must be absorbing at least some of what we say. That’s exactly what one mother discovered when she received a surprising text from her neighbor.
Jamie’s neighbor texted her startling footage she had captured on her home’s security camera.
Jamie’s son Wyatt, then 8-years-old, would often play with the neighbor’s son, so it wasn’t surprising to see him there. However, when she took a closer look at the video, she realized Wyatt wasn’t playing with anybody. In fact, he was completely alone.
The video shows Wyatt driving up to the house on his motorbike.
He gets off the bike and approaches the American flag hanging at the neighbor’s entrance. Then, he does something shocking.
Completely alone, Wyatt turns to the American flag and recites the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jamie was caught off-guard when she saw her son’s actions. “He doesn’t pledge allegiance that I am aware of, other than at school,” she told Fox News. “I can’t remember a time when he did it on his own.”
Still, she wasn’t completely surprised. According to Jamie, Wyatt does everything with 100% of his effort and seeing this adorable display of patriotism immediately brightened her day. Jamie thinks kids often do incredible things when no one’s watching— and they’re probably listening more than we think:
“Sometimes we are only looking at them when we notice they are doing something wrong and we need to correct it.”
In an interview with ABC News, Wyatt explained what motivated him to pledge allegiance that day.
He said that in school, they say the pledge every morning, and he’s also learned a lot about U.S. history. For the 8-year-old, seeing ISIS burn the American flag had always been something that bothered him. And, on that day:
“I just wanted to support our Americans,” he said.
Jamie’s taught Wyatt that he’s lucky to live in a free country— and now, she truly believes he’s absorbed those lessons.
“We try to teach our three kids about how lucky they are to live in this country and about the men and women who have served and died for our freedom.”
Jamie shared the video on Instagram, where it immediately went viral. Jamie hopes it will help show other parents that kids are listening more than we think— even when it feels like we have to repeat ourselves thirty thousand times.
“I think if we would watch more we would learn from their honesty and sincerity,” she said.
If you’re looking to instill a bit of patriotism into your child, there are a few different ways to go about it. A Day in Our Shoes has a ton of ideas, some of which I’ll be listing here:
- Explain how the government works at a level they can understand.
- Have them meet local legislators to explain the job and how it works.
- Bring them with you when you vote to show how important it is. Emphasize that not everybody gets this right.
- Have them visit service members, veterans or people who have fought for civil rights.
- Discuss and explain the meaning behind patriotic holidays and why they’re important.
- Look into patriotic children’s books. There are a ton around.
Watch the adorable video below!
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