Teach your kids to vote this election day

2010-11-02 10:23:51

Some of my fondest memories as a child are of election days.

I remember trekking to our local polling place in Mission Viejo and entering the cardboard booth with my mom. She always had her sample ballot filled out in advance, and she’d let me punch the ballot according to her selections. (Yes, I grew up in the time when we still had a punch ballot!) I loved wearing the super-cool “I voted” sticker the rest of the day.

I knew even as a very young child that voting was special and important. My parents explained to me that not everyone gets to vote, some people in far away countries don’t have a say in what laws are made or who makes them. I never took for granted the magic that is our democratic process.

I think my 8-year old son is beginning to understand this as well. He watched his grandpa serve with joy for several years on our local water district board before my dad died. He knows that we pay taxes so we can have services from people like police, fire fighters, and teachers.

As the political campaign signs popped up around town this fall, my boy asked about the names, offices, and slogans they carried. We had a chance to talk about how laws are made, why we elect officials to help make them, and how much work it would be if every person voted directly on every issue.

I told him how every citizen has an obligation to participate in the process of our democracy by voting at the least, or perhaps even by being willing to take on a role in government. He marveled that he might some day have a job as important as mayor or school board member, and looks forward to the day he can cast his own ballot.

So go out and vote today, and tell your kids why you did it.

Tell us: How do you teach your kids about civics?




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