Book Review: How to Raise an American: 1776 Fun and Easy Tools, Tips, and Activities to Help Your Child

Wednesday, Jul 08^th 2009

By Nancy French

“We want to make our children feel that the mere fact of being Americans makes them better off. . . . This is not to blind us at all to our own shortcomings; we ought steadily to try to correct them; but we have absolutely no grounds to work on if we don’t have a firm and ardent Americanism at the bottom of everything.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

I trust you all had an amazing July 4th! This week might be a good time to consider “How to Raise an American.” This book, by best-selling author Myrna Blyth and former White House speechwriter Chriss Winston, addresses what they call a “patriotism gap” – kids today seem much less patriotic than their parents. Perhaps this is because children have really only known three Presidents -- one of them was impeached, one incessantly portrayed as an idiotic fool, and one who is either worshiped or mocked depending on the political persuasion of their parents. Additionally, schools sometimes teach what’s wrong with our country before (or instead of) what’s right. How should a parent teach children to feel about their country?

Both philosophical and practical, this book is full of tips: dinner table debate topics, patriotic movies, historically accurate and compelling books, and “60-Minute Solutions” to instill a love of country. It challenges parents to take a citizenship test, to trace their “American stories,” and to evaluate their patriotic parenting skills: “Did you vote in the last election,” and “Did you attend a Fourth of July event?”

“How to Raise an American” is a refreshing antidote to the constant media diet of sarcasm and cynicism – its stories remind us of the American dream, laud the importance of faith, and celebrate the deep conviction of our military. By the time you get to chapter six, you’ll want to put your hand over your heart and take “the Patriot Pledge,” a seven part oath to make patriotism an enriching part of family life.

Nancy French

Nancy French is an author, commentator, and mother. Her next book, about the year her husband spent in Iraq is due out July 4, 2011. Connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NancyAndersonFrench and follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nancyafrench.

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