Politics question (not political content--really!)

[Tracey in TX]

What age do you choose to teach your children about your political values? Not necessarily party politics, but general democracy principals, values, etc?

We've always discussed this with our children, but want to ensure they respect our points of view while formulating their own beliefs. After all, someday they will have the right to vote and want to make sure they reflect, but not necessarily replicate our votes.

 

What does your family do to share civics lessons? It's easy to teach communism vs. socialism vs. democracy, but having a tough time presenting republican vs. democratic party philosophies without being lopsided. (We have studied all 43 presidents and that did help, but need to do something more to make it 'real'.) Suggestions?

[Nicole M]

I don't know. I think that stuff is just in the air our kids breathe. If you're talking about politics with your spouse at dinner, listening to the news on the radio, whatever, they'll soak it in.

 

I don't "teach" politics nor do I "teach" s*x ed. I simply answer questions as they arise and make sure the boys have adequate access to information they need. The go to the polls with me. They do dramatic readings of the voter's pamphlet. They read the editorial page/s in our paper.

 

So, yeah, maybe I'm in the unschooling camp when it comes to s*x, drugs and politics....

[Plucky]

We talk a lot about the issues. My dh is very conservative and I'm more moderate. We had a debate in the family room last night after trick or treating. It was very good natured. I would hope my kids would pay attention, but they asked us to go to the living room because we were disturbing their Crusoe show. LOL

 

I think mainly it's talking to kids and looking things up when there's a question. Reading a newspaper and watching the news helps, too. I really want to teach my kids not to tow a party line, but to think about individual issues that are important to them and do their own research. Of course, I'm an Independent and so that probably influences how I teach my kids. I think parents' political beliefs and values will definitely affect the way they teach their kids but it doesn't guarantee that they will have the same beliefs. My sibs and I are all much more conservative than our parents. :)

[Julie in Austin]

I think my kids are getting an earful because my husband and I are not voting for the same person.:001_smile:

 

One thought might be to compare the party platforms for the Dems and GOP.

[Nicole M]

My sibs and I are all much more conservative than our parents. :)

 

Interesting. If my brain weren't so fried tonight, I'd put up a poll to see if others here strayed or stayed close to their parent's views and values. I am the lone liberal in a family that is so conservative Republican that Chappaquiddick was my first multi-syllabic word, and my introduction to politics all in one.

 

ETA: Oops. Sorry. See "brain...fried" above. Totally did not mean to start a rabbit trail, merely thinking out loud.

[Plucky]

LOL! Be good now.

[Paula in PA]

I think my kids are getting an earful because my husband and I are not voting for the same person.:001_smile:

 

:D That's how dd is learning here, too.

[Jenny in Florida]

I'm an NPR junkie, so my kids have grown up listening to news and talk radio. I also listen occasionally to more conservative talk radio, which I find helps me clarify my own thoughts. The kids ask questions. I answer. We discuss. I've never really had to decide it's time to start.

 

It's funny this should come up now. I was talking to my daughter earlier today. She's taking a political science/American government course this semester and mentioned that they have been learning about how people develop their individual political philosophies. The professor was telling the students about studies that show politics/civics tends to be taught in distinct stages and that most adults end up being fairly similar to their parents in terms of political leanings.

 

My daughter paid me the nicest compliment, saying that she never realized until the professor started talking about this how different her own experience was. She commented that she realized in thinking back on it that, whenever one of these conversations came up, I always allowed her (and her little brother) to state their own opinons first and asked questions to help them clarify their thinking. Only then, she said, did I tell them what I thought. And I usually followed that up by explaining to them, in as calm and balanced a tone as I could manage, any opposing arguments of which I was aware.

 

I always knew I wanted to help them learn to think critically and to develop their own opinions, and it was really wonderful to hear that those efforts were recognized and appreciated.

 

And I guess it must have worked okay. My daughter is currently considering a minor in political science and still has the idea of law school on the back burner.

 

And, no, we don't always agree. But we do manage to be respectful of each other.

[Katrina]

Well, my 13dd is becoming quite the political junkie. I think it's mainly because my dh and I tend to follow politics rather openly in front of her. But as far as teaching both my kids, I just answer questions as they come up. I lean to the left, but most of my family lean to the right so the last thing I want to do is demonize either party. I do not expect my kids to mirror my political choices when they get older, because who knows what the issues will be in 10, 20 or 50 years from now. I try to explain that both sides want what is best for the country, and it's our job to decide which ones we agree with.

 

When my kids ask about specific topics, I really try to explain both sides fairly. I do expain which side I agree with, but not because one side is "wrong" and the other "right." I also say things like "Now, your grandmother would agree with *** because she feels that...." (She tends to be opposite what we are.),

[Deidre in GA]

I'm an NPR junkie, so my kids have grown up listening to news and talk radio.

 

same here. political awareness is just a given in this house. my son is now in public high school. he's amazed how much his 'peers' don't know. just the other day, in a moment of rare grace, he told me i'm his favorite person to talk history with. don't worry, in the next moment the aliens sucked his brain away again and he remembered how much i annoyed him!

[Jill- OK]

My husband and I do a lot of talking, we have discussions like the one today, lol, at my grandparents' house (my political leanings go a different direction than my parents' and grandfather's and it can be...interesting)...and I always try and present the 'other side' if they've heard some stiff rhetoric from the radio (I listen to some conservative talk radio as well as NPR)...or from one of their parent's mouths, lol, because I want them to know that there's another way of looking at whatever we're talking about.

 

It's rarely a planned out thing, in other words...usually some sort of debrief, or answering their questions. (Mostly just the teens, and then usually just one of them, in particular).

[Rosy]

I plan on doing a lot of that when we're in SOTW 4 (in two years), and then taking time during election years to talk about and study the issues in depth. But I'm already talking about it some with DD8. She knows who the presidential candidates are and has asked some questions. I'm careful to tell her why the "other side" believes the way they do.

[joannqn]

Interesting. If my brain weren't so fried tonight, I'd put up a poll to see if others here strayed or stayed close to their parent's views and values. I am the lone liberal in a family that is so conservative Republican that Chappaquiddick was my first multi-syllabic word, and my introduction to politics all in one.

 

ETA: Oops. Sorry. See "brain...fried" above. Totally did not mean to start a rabbit trail, merely thinking out loud.

 

My dad typically votes Democrat. I'm mostly Libertarian in my views but usually vote Republican when I do vote. My dad and I do not see eye to eye with politics and I hate it when he brings it up because he's always so cranky and critical about it. I've been avoiding talking to him until after the election.

 

 

As far as the kids go...mine have been interested in the elections. My

DS6 can be heard quote political ads. My DD8 is going through my ballot with me. I read the main idea of each initiative, the opinions for both sides, and summarize it for her. Then she tells me which she thinks I should vote for and has a very strong opinion about it too. We've only disagreed on one thing. We'll be going through the people tomorrow. I know she strongly agrees with DH and I on the choice for President.

[chaik76]

We talk about politics and our beliefs a lot, so our kids just "pick it up". That said, even at 7, our son has slightly differing beliefs than us. We explain (from both positions) whatever he wants explained. We also explain why we believe what we believe, but don't expect him to believe the same.

[JWSJ]

Our ds7 has enjoyed listening about politics. He is a sponge. He is a member of Cub Scouts and they tend to be very civics oriented.

 

He has some speaking points but they tend to go into very imaginative situations very quickly.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

By the time my dd was 15 months old, she could name the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, Attorney General and tell you that Saddam Hussein lived in Iraq. When she was just over a year old, she heard the beginning of a Libby Dole commercial and started shouting "Dole! Dole!" from her crib right around the corner. We did not actively encourage this. We just always have the news on a lot and she was interested. VERY interested. I got a short audio clip of her when she was barely a year old if you are in the mood for some political cuteness.

 

 

When she was 2, we were watching the State of the Union and President Bush made a comment against gay marriage. Dd asked what he was talking about so we explained. Her reply was that she wanted to spank the President. I sent this in with a few other of her quotes for a greeting card contest from Kate Harper designs and they published it.

 

Her first presidential election happened when she was 3. It was then we started to discuss the two major parties. I have no desire for dd's political views to reflect mine in any way, and neither does my husband. She is her own person and can make her own informed decisions about those things. While we discuss politics around here on a regular basis, we try to do our best to always present different sides. However, there is nothing like having other people around to talk politics with also, people who don't mind dd asking tough questions.

 

Simply reading the newspaper and watching the news daily can make learning the basics really easy. We talk about givernment at the dinner table, it's not just something that comes up in the fall. We don't just talk national politics, but state and local issues as well.

 

Then there is the history of political parties and the ways they have evolved over time. Dd just finished a great class about characteristics of past Presidents. She got to compare and contrast them to see what charateristics are common among many elected leaders. What factors caused third parties to be more successful, stull like that.

 

Dd is using The Art of Argument this year to study informal logic, which has enhanced her studies in political science greatly.

[Erica in PA]

My husband and I do a lot of talking, we have discussions like the one today, lol, at my grandparents' house (my political leanings go a different direction than my parents' and grandfather's and it can be...interesting)...and I always try and present the 'other side' if they've heard some stiff rhetoric from the radio (I listen to some conservative talk radio as well as NPR)...or from one of their parent's mouths, lol, because I want them to know that there's another way of looking at whatever we're talking about.

 

It's rarely a planned out thing, in other words...usually some sort of debrief, or answering their questions. (Mostly just the teens, and then usually just one of them, in particular).

 

This is very much how we are, too. Even though, as most people here may be aware, I have strong opinions when it comes to politics, I am careful not to make the issues black and white for my children. I explain to them why I prefer a certain candidate and party platform, but I also explain some of the reasons that others have for supporting the other side. I try to show them that ultimately both sides want what is best for our country, but that we differ in our *opinions* on how to make that happen.

 

One thing that's very important to me that my children understand is that being a Christian and being a Republican do not necessarily go hand in hand. The fact that we are a Christian family, and are Republicans largely because of our moral values, could lead them to believe that every Christian is a Republican. I try to point out whenever I can, that many Christians have solid reasons to vote for Democrat candidates. Ultimately, while our faith does inform our political positions, our faith is much more important to me than politics, and I don't want my kids to put them on the same level, or equate them with one another.

 

Oops, I forgot to mention my kids' ages: 12, 8, and 6. The oldest is very interested in politics, the middle somewhat, and the 6 year old just likes making blanket statements against a certain candidate even though I correct her every time!

 

Erica

Edited November 3, 2008 by Erica in PA

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I think my kids are getting an earful because my husband and I are not voting for the same person.:001_smile:

 

One thought might be to compare the party platforms for the Dems and GOP.

Same here!

We have an agreement not to say anything about either candidate that is disrespectful. We do debate some issues, but make sure the kids know that both of these men love their country and are trying very hard to do what they feel is right for the United States. We have also talked quite a bit about how this will be a historical election, regardless of who wins and what power the president actually has or does not have and who actually makes the laws that affect us.

[LisaKinVA]

Well, this year we've had lots of discussions on racism, sexism, economics and more.

 

When discussing one economic issue, I asked my son which he would rather have... $1000 a year or $500 a week. At first he said, "$1000 a year." I then asked him to "multiply $500 a week x 52" and see if that made any difference. He did the math and came back and said that $500 a week was a much better option. I asked him why? He looked at me like I had grown a 3rd eye, then proceeded to explain how many more lego sets he could buy with $500 a week than $1000 a year.:lol:

 

I would say that dh and I pretty much agree on most everything, and that our children are learning those values in an open discussion format. However, we also talk about the great thing about our country is that people have the right to disagree philosophically with one another, as long as we do it respectfully, and without calling each other names.

 

It is extremely important to both my dh and I, that we go further than just spouting political rhetoric, that we help our children discover the why's, the comparisons, the contrasting view -- and be able to "read between the lines" of things that aren't said, not merely what is being said. Qualifiers within the rhetoric (I'll consider that idea is not the same as I support that idea... but many people when hearing the 1st THINK the 2nd).

 

My dh and I are both former debaters -- so research into both sides is critical. We don't believe either major party has a lock on 100% truth, and try to come at the perspective that we are all flawed, but we are trying to do the best we can. The key is that we work to improve not only our lives, but the lives of those around us -- especially those who aren't able to fight for themselves (younger, sick, old, etc.)

 

Lisa