UPDATED OCTOBER 2016: Your first grader’s eyes glaze over whenever Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump appear on TV. And your 11-year-old doesn’t have a clue what the candidates think about taxes. Even so, this is the perfect time to get kids excited about the presidential campaign and to teach them about the election process. Here are five fun activities to help get you started:
Know the candidates.
Have your children thumb through the daily newspaper and count how many photos of the candidates they see. Together, add up the numbers for each candidate and see who won the media coverage derby. Sneak in a discussion of the candidates’ platforms when watching television news with your older children. Ask them for their opinions about various issues and have them compare their viewpoints with the candidates’ positions. (Check out www.timeforkids.com for a summary of the candidates’ stands on issues). Avoid using simplistic “talk-show” sound bites and put-downs. This is a good opportunity to teach respect for different points of view.
Be aware of political ads.
While on a neighborhood stroll or out in your car driving to soccer practice or ballet class, make a game of finding “Vote For” bumper stickers, billboards and lawn signs. With older kids, analyze the slogans and ads. Do the tag lines help people remember the candidates, or persuade voters to back one particular candidate? Do the ads have a negative or positive spin? Do they attack the other candidate and use techniques such as name-calling, or do they present the candidates’ plans for a better nation? Pull out poster boards, crayons, scissors and double-sided tape and encourage your children to design their own posters and campaign buttons. If they need inspiration, suggest they decorate the posters with stars and stripes or elephants or donkeys. Let their voices be heard! Help them produce and tape-record “radio” ads or videotape “TV” commercials for the candidate of their choice. Get them to understand fairness and see both sides of issues by also producing “advertising” for the other candidate.
Book it.
Read stories about voting. Two good choices are: Woodrow for President: A Tail of Voting, Campaigns and Elections, by Peter and Cheryl Barnes, which humorously makes politics more understandable to youngsters; and Papa’s Mark, by Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert, which poignantly underscores how precious this constitutional right is to all Americans.
Celebrate voting.
They won’t be able to officially vote until they are 18, but kids can still practice! Capture the community spirit of neighborhood precincts by inviting a group of children you know to cast their ballots at a voting party. Rig up a polling booth by placing a table in a quiet corner of a room where the young voters will be able to fill out their ballots. Cover a shoe “ballot” box with blue paper and glued-on white stars. Go patriotic and decorate the area with festive red, white and blue streamers, balloons and American flags. A screen or blanket surrounding your homemade polling booth is a good way to show how personal each vote is and how important the secret ballot is to our voting system. To vote, direct each child to check off their favorite candidate’s name before inserting it into the slot you’ve cut in the box. (Including a photo of each candidate on the paper will be helpful to nonreaders). When the poll “officially” closes, count the votes and announce the winner. It will be fun for them to see how their votes will later compare to the rest of the country. Don’t forget to provide refreshments . . . voting can make a person hungry!
Be a role model.
Have your children accompany you when you head to the polls on Election Day. Ask them beforehand what they think it will be like and afterwards how it compared to their imagination. Give yourselves a fun treat as positive reinforcement for voting. Taking time out of your busy schedule to perform this small act sends a powerful message to your children that voting is a significant part of being good American citizens. The people behind the “Take Your Kids To Vote!” educational program hope that by making it a family affair, voting will become a habit that lasts a lifetime.
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