Whether it is the function of the political climate we are living in, the age of constant information flow that we are exposed to, or the effects of policies that touch our communities and affect the things we care about, civic engagement is on the rise, which is a wonderful thing! As Shay wrote about on the blog recently, parents want to have their voices heard on these issues that matter to them but face a lot of logistical challenges. In addition to reorienting our systems to allow for the voices of mothers to be in The Room Where It Happens, integrating our children in an age-appropriate way into our activism efforts is both a necessity and a benefit.
So how do you involve children in civic action and democratic processes?
- Start with age-appropriate basics. It’s important for kids to have the basic framework and context for how our government is supposed to work from casting votes through making laws, and how individual citizens interact with that. Read the Constitution with them, talk about how the amendments came about. Watch Schoolhouse Rock videos on YouTube about the three branches of government and how bills become laws. Anchor your activism efforts within that framework.
- Relate your views on politics to values your family has, whether they are rooted in a religious tradition or a secular one. This could be as simple as “we believe that helping other people when we can make us all stronger,” or “we believe that love is love.”
- Answer questions honestly, but don’t answer more than they have asked. If you need time to answer a difficult question, tell your child that you want to get the best information for them and make time to come back to their question within a day or so.
- Help your child recognize that progress sometimes takes a while. Sometimes children can get discouraged if they become invested in something that doesn’t happen right away (also a good reason to reference back to the frameworks of government mentioned above). It can be helpful to share stories with them about big changes that have happened over time, like women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement, via age-appropriate books or movies.
- Encourage your child to think about a problem they would like to see changed in their world and help them pursue that change. Give them the autonomy to identify an issue in your household, neighborhood, school, or community that they would like to influence, and help them make a plan to address it. Maybe it’s getting all family members on board with being better at turning off lights, or cleaning up an area on your street that has been littered on, or writing a letter to the school administration to make a case for why silent lunch is a terrible idea. Or maybe it’s fundraising to contribute to a larger issue. The idea is that your child can be empowered to be a change agent instead of feeling like a passive observer, which sets the stage for future civic engagement.
- Recognize burnout in yourself and in them. Take time off and focus on other things as needed. Modeling the ability to create healthy boundaries is essential.
In addition, talk to your children about your own thinking and beliefs on the topic, and what components of it resonate the most with you and why. Allow the space for them to come to their own conclusion on this issue or any others, and for them to choose the parts that resonate the most with them. Opening up this avenue of communication with your child benefits you by helping you clarify your own stance on an issue, and also provides a neat opportunity to understand the views your child has on the world and sets them up for a lifetime of civic engagement.
Adapted from the author’s interview with The Woman Project.