Parenting
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Do you talk to your kids about politics?
editor
Presidential election
discussions are heating up,
even amongst preschoolers.
Talking about politics with your kids can seem like a daunting
experience. Where do you even start? A few week's ago
CityMama posted
three tips to help talk to your kids about the presidential
election. I think one of the most important points of
her post is that your conversations and explanations are age
appropriate.
With that in mind, we have some additional, easy-peasy tips to help
you speak with your kids about politics and the upcoming
election:
- Keep it simple. In keeping with the
age-appropriateness theme, don't get too technical unless your kids
are ready for it. Just like discussions about babies and sex, only
answer the questions they are asking. Stay simple. If you are
trying to explain the voting process to young children, illustrate
voting at home: Have your kids vote on what you will watch during
family movie night, or what they want for dessert. When we
explain the role of the President to our six-year-old son, we use
terms he'll understand: "He's the boss of the United States but he
has a big team of people that help make important decisions. And
there are some big decisions that all of us get to help make by
voting. It's our job to vote." One of my favorite sites to
get kids jazzed about the election is The Democracy Project by PBS
Kids. And Scholastic News has
an amazing Election 2008 site for children,
with kid reporters and video reports.
- Relate discussions to their everyday life. Is
your city voting on any measure that could impact the parks that
your kids play at or the schools they attend? This is a simple way
to explain to your kids how everyone in your city who votes plays
an important role in making decisions about things that are
important to your child. With older kids, you can broaden this to a
state or national level. Is there legislation that can impact the
requirements for teens to obtain a driver's license? Is there a new
bond election for expanding public libraries? Talking to them about
issues that are important and relevant to their lives helps them
understand why everyone needs to use their voice in
politics. As CityMama mentioned in her post,
Poligots.com has some
excellent ideas to show your kids how they can get involved in
elections/the political process.
- Bring your kids to your polling place on Election
Day. Let them share in the excitement. Little kids can
wear your "I Voted" sticker with pride. If they feel left out of
the voting process, create a kid-polling place a home, make ballots
and let them decide who they think should be president. You could
add some fun things to the ballot and let them vote for their
favorite movies, books, singers, foods and desserts.
- Share your views but don't be upset if they
disagree. If you're voting for John McCain, tell your kid.
But explain why this presidential hopeful is important to you. Your
job here isn't to convince your kid to share your views. It's to
show your kid why you have a certain stance. And it little Betsy
disagrees with you, so be it. Everyone is entitled to his or her
opinion. If anything, keep an open mind. You might learn a thing or
two about your first grader's uncomplicated and unclouded thought
process. And you should also mention to your kid that they
shouldn't get angry with others for not sharing their opinions,
too.
- Get historical. Provide context to political
events. Whatever your political views, you can certainly explain to
your kid that this particular presidential election will make
history: the United States will either have its first
African-American president or the first female vice-president. Make
sure your kids know they will be a part of this important
milestone. And if your kids are old enough to dig deep into the
voting process, you should pay a visit to the
U.S. Electoral College site (from the National
Archives) and check out the
teachers' section for answers to all the questions your kids might
ask.
If you do talk politics with your kids, make sure to keep it fun.
One of my favorite memories is being very little and getting to go
into the voting booth with my mom and dad to watch them check off
their ballots. I couldn't wait for my chance to vote on my own (I
even pretended to vote at home.) I know that my parents
helped instill that level of excitement, which I still carry with
me. We need to start building that foundation early with our own
kids.
Updated: Shine user
Khaliela has been very active in getting her kids
involved in politics and the election process. I asked her to share
more advanced tips to help educate your kids on this topic and she
did! Thanks Khaliela! Please
check out her awesome post.
Do you talk to your kids about politics and the
upcoming election? Any fun stories to share?
Related: sarah palin, presidential election, politics, kids, john mccain, joe biden, election day, barack obama
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Posted by Not a one Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:23am PDT
I've known since I can remember that I'm a republican- I remember my Grandmother telling me that when I was little- then she'd ask me "What are you?" and me at 3 or 4 years old would respond "I'm a republican!"- I think it's important for kids to at least have some sort of understanding about politics.
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Posted by Charlene Prince Birkeland, Shine staff Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:55am PDT
Hi Khaliela,
It's commendable that your family is so involved in the election process. I appreciate your comments and your thoughts on this topic.
Yes, these tips are simple. Why? They are baseline for families looking to address first questions from their kids. As CityMama posted in her reply to your comment on her post, it's up to parents to decide what's most appropriate to discuss with their child(ren) and what their kids will understand. If being involved in rallies and primaries is part of your life, then clearly, your kids will have a better grasp than other children.
May I suggest you write a post about how families like yours can be involved in the political process? This would be more advanced, versus the goal of this particular post.
Thanks!
cpb
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Posted by trxiegirl71 Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:19am PDT
Yes, we discuss many political items with our children who are 2 and 4, as well as my 12 year old sister. They all know that they are Democrats and they are all die hard Obama Supporters. We also discuss the propositions with them and explain the pros and cons and have them make up their minds on where they stand and we explain the way that we would vote as well. All parents need to remember: We may not be raising the next President, but we are raising teh next voters.
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Posted by Shadow Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:02pm PDT
palin wont speak to the public, why would i want a stranger for a possible president? ive had difficulty trying to figure out what SHE wants, all i ever find is someone elses speculation on her and her values. if she cant talk to us now, why would she if she was president?
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Posted by k Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:51am PDT
I don't have kids, but my family has always been political and spoke openly to me about politics from a young age, my dad probably didn't know that when he was talking about equality and accepting all people for who they are that he was also shaping my political mind, as now I look at the way that McCain (and all republicans for that matter) look down on those who are different from them and so for me politics has always been an easy choice. When I was young, I would sit and watch CSPAN with my uncle and I found it amazing that there are people out there who want nothing more than for anyone different from them to have zero civil rights, I just have never undertsood that kind of thinking. When I do have children, they will hear WHY I am a democrat, I don't believe in sugar coating it, my kids will know that I vote the way I do so that people like their gay uncle can marry whoever he chooses same as anyone else could and so that women can make their own choices when it comes to their bodies and so that maybe someday, racism will be a thing of the past, I think parents have a huge responsibility to talk honestly to their kids about politics.
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Posted by klojkb Thu Oct 16, 2008 3:30am PDT
While I was growing up I was TOLD that I was a Democrat, by my father. No ifs, ands or buts. It wasn't discussed it just was. Now that I'm older and a parent of a teenager, I wouldn't call myself one or the other. I have issues that I agree/disagree with on both sides. My son is a Obama fan and we openly discuss the issues. I'm very honest about things I'm not sure about, things I agree with, things I disagree with. I want him to know that whomever he chooses to vote for when he is old enough is okay and totally up to him.
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Posted by tazemoto Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:35am PDT
I think it's wonderful to get kids involved in politics it's very important to this country and our way of life. Kids are the future and we need change so that's a good place to start. Many people walk around with blinders on don't care enough to vote or learn more about what our politicans are doing. We all should pay more attention and stop taking our freedoms for granite. think of our forefathers and all the people who died for our freedoms and are still dying for our freedoms. VOTE pay attention to politics knowledge is power.
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Posted by Will G Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:51am PDT
I do discuss politics with my child, but only what would be considered age appropriate. What we mostly discuss is the seemingly never ending stream of attacks (personal or professional) BOTH sides cast towards eachother. It is sad to watch all the negative mud being bantered about. If you really want to teach your kids anything... Lets try to teach them mannors and respect. There is far too less of that in todays world, and it seems very few parents are concerned about how their children behave.
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Posted by jassie Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:39am PDT
yes children also have a voice. I have grandchildren that are watching very closely. I have one grandbaby age 4 that has been listening at home and school and I would like to share her thoughts. We were in the store when she (riding in the basket turned to me) said NaNa if Barack Obama wins he will be the first black president. I said yes he will. Then to go on and prove to me what she knew she said George Washington is the the president now. I helped out with that one and said no darling President George Bush is our president now. She in turn stated to me oh I knew it was George somebody. That lets me know how important it is to inform our children as well as grandchildren on politics they are interested too.
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