One day, your child may look up at you and ask a very simple question:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is everyone wearing a red flower?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Maybe they\u2019ll notice the poppy pinned to your coat. Maybe they\u2019ll wonder why people have gathered around a cenotaph on a cold November morning. Or perhaps they\u2019ll be standing beside you at 11 o\u2019clock when everyone suddenly becomes quiet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For a child, Remembrance Day<\/strong> often begins with these little observations.<\/p>\n A poppy. A moment of silence. A photograph of someone in uniform. A name carved into a memorial.<\/p>\n And eventually, a question:<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do we remember?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n As parents, that question gives us an opportunity to pass something important from one generation to the next. Not merely the history of Remembrance Day, but the values behind it: remembrance, service, courage, sacrifice, gratitude<\/strong>\u2014and the hope for peace.<\/p>\n Because every generation learns remembrance from the one before it.<\/p>\n Becoming a parent changes how we think about the past. Suddenly, we\u2019re thinking so much about the future. We wonder what kind of world our children will grow up in.<\/p>\n What they\u2019ll learn.<\/p>\n What they\u2019ll value.<\/p>\n Which family traditions they\u2019ll carry forward.<\/p>\n And which stories we\u2019ll make sure they know.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Remembrance Day can take on new meaning when you\u2019re raising a child. The poppy you\u2019ve worn for years may suddenly need explaining. The two minutes of silence become something you stand through together. An old photograph of a great-grandparent may become the start of a family story. And a ceremony you once attended as a child may become one you now bring your own child to. This is how remembrance continues.<\/p>\n One generation teaches the next.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to give a young child a full history lesson to explain Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n You can begin simply.<\/p>\n \u201cToday we remember people who served our country, and we think about the sacrifices they and their families made.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As children grow, we can add more of the story.<\/p>\n November 11 carries special meaning because the fighting of the First World War ended with an armistice that took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918\u2014the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.<\/p>\n That is why, more than a century later, Canadians still pause at 11 o\u2019clock. At the National Remembrance Day Ceremony, the Last Post is followed by two minutes of silent reflection. Across Canada, that silence is echoed in schools, workplaces, community ceremonies, and homes.<\/p>\n For a young child, two minutes can feel surprisingly long. They may shuffle their feet. They may look around. They may not fully understand. That\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n Understanding remembrance doesn\u2019t have to happen all at once. It can grow with them.<\/p>\n For many Canadian children, the poppy is their first symbol of Remembrance Day. And it comes with a remarkable Canadian connection.<\/p>\n During the First World War, red poppies grew in areas of France and Belgium devastated by fighting.<\/p>\n In 1915, Canadian physician and artillery officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote about those flowers in his poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy subsequently became an international symbol of remembrance and was adopted in Canada in 1921. But your child doesn\u2019t need all that history the first time they point to the flower on your coat.<\/p>\n You might simply say:<\/p>\n \u201cWe wear a poppy to help us remember people who served and sacrificed.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Then, as they get older, tell them more. Tell them about McCrae. Read In Flanders Fields together. Talk about why the poppy became a symbol. Show them that something as small as a flower can carry a very big story.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There isn\u2019t one perfect explanation because children understand difficult subjects differently as they grow. With very young children, begin with ideas they already understand. Remembering. Helping. Courage. Gratitude. Peace.<\/strong><\/p>\n You might say:<\/p>\n \u201cToday is a day when Canadians remember people who served our country. Some had to leave their families for a long time, and some were hurt or died. We stay quiet for a little while to show that we remember them.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to introduce every difficult detail at once. Follow your child\u2019s questions.<\/p>\n If they ask about the poppy, talk about the poppy.<\/p>\n If they ask why everyone is silent, explain the silence.<\/p>\n If they notice medals on a Veteran\u2019s coat, explain that the person served.<\/p>\n If they ask what war means, answer honestly in words appropriate for their age.<\/p>\n As children become older, the conversation can become more complete. They can learn about Canada\u2019s military history. They can learn about people from their own community. They can learn that service and sacrifice have continued through different wars, conflicts, peace operations and generations. And they can begin to understand that remembrance isn\u2019t about glorifying war.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about remembering people and recognizing what war and military service have meant for individuals, families and communities.<\/p>\n Dates matter. But people make history real.<\/p>\n If military service is part of your family\u2019s story, Remembrance Day can be an opportunity to introduce your child to someone they may never have had the chance to meet. Bring out the photograph. Say their name. Ask grandparents what they remember. Look at medals or letters if your family has preserved them. Talk about who that person was beyond their uniform.<\/p>\n Where did they grow up? What did they do before they served? What did they love? What happened when they came home? What stories did they tell\u2014or perhaps find difficult to tell?<\/p>\n If your family doesn\u2019t have a military connection, remembrance still belongs to you. Look at the names on your community\u2019s cenotaph. Choose one and learn their story. Visit a museum. Read about a Canadian Veteran together. Because you don\u2019t need a Veteran in your family tree to teach your child why Canada remembers.<\/p>\n As children get older, we can also help them discover that Canada\u2019s military history contains many different stories. People from communities across the country and from many backgrounds served Canada. That includes generations of First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis people.<\/p>\n Veterans Affairs Canada notes a long tradition of Indigenous military service and estimates that more than 12,000 First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit people served in the major conflicts of the 20th century.<\/p>\n Their story also includes inequality. Indigenous Veterans sometimes faced challenges in joining the military and unequal treatment after returning home. November 8 is Indigenous Veterans Day in Canada, providing a special opportunity to recognize the service and sacrifices of First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis Veterans.<\/p>\n These aren\u2019t details children need to understand all at once. But as they grow, their understanding of remembrance can grow too. They can discover that Canadian history contains courage and sacrifice, but also stories that deserve deeper understanding.<\/p>\n Remembering well means being willing to learn those stories too.<\/p>\n On November 11, communities across Canada gather.<\/p>\n This year, perhaps bring your child. Bundle them into their November coat. Pin on a poppy. Walk together to your local cenotaph or Remembrance Day ceremony. Let them see the wreaths. Hear the Last Post. Notice the Veterans and serving members. Read some of the names. Stand together during the silence.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to whisper an explanation through every part of the ceremony. Sometimes children learn simply by being there. And someday, they may remember standing beside you.<\/p>\n Remembrance can connect generations in another way too. Ask grandparents or older relatives what November 11 was like when they were children.<\/p>\n Did their school hold a ceremony? Did someone in their family serve? Did their home have a photograph? Did their parents tell them stories? What did Remembrance Day mean in their family? You may discover stories your children have never heard.<\/p>\n You may even discover stories you\u2019ve<\/em> never heard. Write them down. Save the photographs. Record a conversation if your family member is comfortable with it. Because family history can disappear surprisingly quickly when nobody asks.<\/p>\n Sometimes preserving remembrance begins with a conversation around the kitchen table.<\/p>\n We pass traditions to our children because they\u2019re joyful.<\/p>\n Birthday cakes. Holiday recipes. Favourite songs. Family celebrations. And there are traditions we pass along because remembering matters.<\/p>\n Remembrance Day is one of them.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not simply teaching children to wear a poppy. We\u2019re teaching them to ask whose story came before theirs. We\u2019re teaching gratitude. We\u2019re teaching them that service can involve sacrifice. We\u2019re teaching them that history happened to real people and real families. And perhaps most importantly, we\u2019re helping them understand why peace is something worth valuing.<\/p>\n During pregnancy, parents spend a remarkable amount of time imagining a person they haven\u2019t met yet. We wonder what they\u2019ll look like. Who they\u2019ll become. What they\u2019ll love. And what kind of world they\u2019ll inherit.<\/p>\n After they\u2019re born, those hopes only grow.<\/p>\n We want our children to learn. To laugh. To build friendships. To discover who they are. To love. To create families and futures of their own.<\/p>\n Perhaps that\u2019s one reason Remembrance Day can feel different once we\u2019re responsible for the next generation. We aren\u2019t only looking backward at sacrifices made in the past. We\u2019re looking forward at the lives we hope our children will have the freedom and peace to build.<\/p>\n Someday, the child holding your hand may be the parent. They may stand on a cold November morning with a little person beside them. A small voice may ask:<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is everyone wearing that red flower?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n And perhaps your child will bend down and explain the poppy. They\u2019ll tell them why Canada becomes quiet at eleven o\u2019clock. Maybe they\u2019ll share the story of someone from your family. Maybe they\u2019ll remember standing beside you at a cenotaph when they were small.<\/p>\n And remembrance will continue, as it always has. From one generation to the next.<\/p>\n At UC Baby,<\/strong> we have spent more than 23 years alongside Canadian families and have had the privilege of serving more than 600,000 moms. We spend our days surrounded by families looking toward the future and imagining everything still ahead for the children they\u2019re waiting to meet.<\/p>\n On Remembrance Day, we join Canadians across the country in looking back.<\/strong><\/p>\n To Canada\u2019s Veterans and serving members, to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to the families and communities whose lives have been shaped by military service:<\/p>\n We remember.<\/strong><\/p>\n And may we continue teaching future generations why remembrance matters.<\/p>\n Lest we forget.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One day, your child may look up at you and ask a very s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,54],"tags":[912],"class_list":["post-31145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-relevant-topics","tag-remembrance-day"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Remembrance Day Feels Different as a Parent<\/h2>\n
Why Does Canada Remember on November 11?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cWhy Are You Wearing That Red Flower?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
How Do You Explain Remembrance Day to a Child?<\/h2>\n
Let Them Meet a Person Behind the History<\/h2>\n
Remembering the Many Canadians Who Served<\/h2>\n
Take Them Somewhere Canada Remembers<\/h2>\n
Ask Grandparents About the Remembrance Days They Remember<\/h2>\n
What Are We Really Passing Along?<\/h2>\n
Looking at the Next Generation<\/h2>\n
Someday, It Will Be Their Turn to Remember<\/h2>\n