Talking About Politics With Your Kids

Every one of us, every parent, has something that they teach their children as an absolute.  Maybe it's your religious views, maybe it's your preference in spaghetti sauce.  We each have things we feel viciously passionate about, and we pass that to our kids.

Should our politics be one of those things?

I suppose that decision comes down to whether or not you believe a political stance comes from nature or nurture.  I believe that each one of us has within us already a political leaning, and that no amount of nurture is going to affect it all that much.  For example, I was raised in a home where politics were a FORBIDDEN subject.  We never discussed it on any level, and I was not allowed to participate in political discourse in school.  I had NO nurture.  My brother and father turned out to be Republicans, and I am a flaming left wing democrat.  Same upbringing, same home, same experience; two TOTALLY different political views.

What about my sons?  They are old enough to understand politics and they are old enough to also CARE what's going on in their country.  It is my responsibility to guide them through our political landscape, but I feel like it's also my responsibility to give them a wide view of the matters at hand.

I hear my children mimic me when they are with their friends, saying that our current president is bad and that the war was waged on a lie.  That is an unfair thing for me to allow my children to think.  Every time I hear them recite something I've mumbled into the phone to one of my friends, I try to take a moment to pause, to explain the other side to them.  When we talk about the upcoming election, I try very hard to highlight the good things about McCain, and not just my views on Obama, and why I think he's the right choice for America.

Why do I do this?  I could easily just teach them my views and let them come to their own conclusions when they're older.  I choose to do this now to keep the door open for conversation.  What if they DON'T agree with the Democrats?  What if they are the next Young Republicans?  Do I want to teach them intolerance?  Do I want them to think I don't approve of their beliefs when they're older?  No, I certainly don't.

I want my boys to grow up and remember that their mother, a simple, normal American, a Democrat, was open to the conversation opposing her views.  I want them to remember that their mother saw value in discourse.  Because maybe one of my boys will be President someday, and maybe they'll remember that the world is full of different opinions, and each and every one of them matters.