Kid activities to do before the RNC

Kids and politics go together like peanut butter and jelly.  It's just a question of what does politics mean to your kids.  If you frame the information in a kid-friendly way, election years offer you great family discussions, an outlet for debate and healthy disagreement, and family television-watching extravaganzas.  Start now to prepare your kids for the next few months of political history-in-the-making.

Your child can learn all about John McCain at the Republican National Convention, then cast his vote to "pick the president" on Nickelodeon.  Hooray for Nickelodeon for listening to kids - helping kids find and share their political voices.  Even if your young Republican disagrees with Linda Ellerbee, he or she will want to vote and hear what other kids are thinking.

Your child can find some thoughtful questions and you'll find some great conversation starters in the Whitehouse.gov download, My American Journal.  It's a 33 page color journal with messages from President and Laura Bush.  You might not actually make the Egg Salad ala George recipe but it is a hands-on way to reflect on personal goals, community service, citizenship, patriotism, and elected officials.  Your child will also find games, links to government information and state websites for kids at Kids.gov.

Learning about politics and forming political ideas starts young.  The resources available to kids gets better and better every year.  Of course, parents are the first and best teachers.  Between now and the election, step out of the ordinary.  Talk about your elected officials.  Plan a visit or send an email with your child's personal questions to your elected officials - you'll find names and contact info at USA.gov.  Start the dialogue.  Who knows - your child might be president one day.

And please, take your kids with you to vote on November 4th.

 

Topics: RNC