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Lessons on voting for raising responsible kids
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What does democracy feel like? Millions of American voters may be feeling either exhilaration or despair next Tuesday depending on the outcome of the election. Voting is a responsibility that carries very definite consequences. Next Tuesday, parents have the opportunity to show children what it means to win gracefully and what it looks like to lose with dignity. These aren't easy lessons, especially when we are personally vested in the outcomes.
You can start exploring the experience of voting and its outcomes by having your child "vote" on big and small decisions over the next few days. Stephanie Englander has sent me a list of the things her children have been voting on in her home: dinner menus, flavors of toothpaste, books before bed, just about anything. The ideas are limitless. Not to mention adding some new twists like predicting voter opinions from friends and other family members or starting a week-long campaign to influence an undecided voter.
What do children learn when they get to vote on decisions and activities in your family?
- They learn about winners and losers.
- They learn you don't always get what you want.
- They learn that enthusiasm sometimes overrides fair play.
- They learn that people have different points of view.
- They learn how people form those positions (information, emotions, impulse, etc.).
- They learn there's an art to persuasion and to compromise.
- They learn ways to live with differences.
Democracy is more than having the right to vote. It's how we live together with mutual respect.
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