“…a government is like everything else: to preserve it, we must love it…the surest way of instilling such love into children is for parents to set them an example.” - Thomas Jefferson
Well, according to “Take Your Kids To Vote”, a national campaign encouraging parents to involve their children in Election Day 2008, the best way to ensure and pass on your family’s values and patriotic responsibilities to vote in your children is to simply give them the opportunity to watch mom and/or dad pull the lever or put the voting ballots in the box and get that ever-familiar “I Voted” sticker that is worn proudly for the rest of the day.
As a parent, I think the “Take Your Kids to Vote” campaign is a great idea. It’s a way for us to involve our children in the political process and to teach our children about American democracy as well as our own values as a family.
This can become a very important lesson for our children. I can recall my own experiences growing up and I fondly remember the many ways that my parents involved me in the process beginning at a very young age. I can remember going with my mom and dad to “help” them vote: I got to push the vote button sometimes or when it was paper-based voting, I got to help mark the “x’s” on the ballots.
I even recall my mom and dad placing the pencils in my hand and instructing me one election year, “Ashley, we’re going to be voting for Ronald Reagan this year. He’s a good man and will make a great President.” Afterwards, my parents would always give me the “I Voted” sticker to wear on my shirt the rest of the day. Although these are such little things, in the watchful eye and earnest listener of a youngster, these are exactly the kinds of opportunities that create memories and positive impressions of voting from even the earliest of years. I know that’s what it did for me!
I also grew up in a house that was very politically active and engaged. Growing up, I can remember many conversations around the dinner table where I listened to my mom and dad discuss a variety of issues important to them and to our family. I can also remember how passionate my mom and dad were about politics. They’d get involved in grassroots efforts to support their political candidates. They’d put political bumper stickers on their cars, and if my memory serves me correctly, I did the same on my bicycles and would ride through the neighborhood proudly showing support for the candidate of my family’s choice. Politics and discussions of politics in my family were always welcome. Discussions were lively, passionate and fun. I loved to listen to my parents talk about their values, views and issues important to them and how these ideas shaped and influenced their choice in candidates. These are just some of my fond memories of my parents, their passion for politics and the lasting impressions that they created for me towards the process even as a small child.
Today, now that I am a parent, it is my hope that I will pass on that same heritage and love for politics, patriotism, democracy and voting responsibilities that my parents instilled in me through the years. So I confess, thanks in large part to my parents, I truly love voting and politics. I will enjoy voting with Paige and Taylor in a couple weeks. Mike and I have already been talking about how much fun it will be to have the girls with us as we cast our Presidential votes. They will help us cast our votes by helping us push the electronic “vote” buttons. They will get the “I Voted” stickers and will enjoy wearing them, as all kids love stickers! And, they too, will begin to discover how fun politics and how important democracy is, even at their age. What’s more exciting to me is that we can continue to build upon this in the years to come as Paige and Taylor grow up….we’ll have many more opportunities to help them learn why voting matters, how proud they can be to live in America, and how individually, they can help make America stronger. Lastly, as a family, we will be building lasting memories simply by helping Paige and Taylor to share in the excitement of Election Day in 2 weeks.
After all, as I learned growing up with my family, you’re never too young to make a difference.
If you are a parent who would like to learn more about the national campaign “Take Your Kids To Vote”, please check their mission website online and you might even want to download the attached pledge in support of the mission. Be sure to pass the pledge on to your family, friends and other parents encouraging them to become a part of the "Take Your Kids To Vote" initiative.
http://www.takeyourkids2vote.org/images/pledge.pdf
