The book, “Why Mommy is a Democrat”, was written by a political activist in order to engage kids in the political thoughts of their parents. They acknowledge that this functions as satire, and if this was as far as it went, I think I’d agree (though it’s not very funny, from what I’ve seen). However they seem to seriously encourage reading and discussing these books with children.
How is something like this different from “Jesus Camp”? It’s a political indoctrination. I’m not sure why I feel this way, but I do.
How soon is too soon to begin discussing partisan politics (as opposed to moral issues or interpersonal relationships) with children?
Is there not a danger that children so indoctrinated will become the kind of partisan that cannot empathize with their opponent on the other side of the aisle? And isn’t that bad for everyone in a two-party system?
Disclosure- I am a democrat. I have no kids. (yet)
Political indoctrination happens anyway. Many kids have the same political views of their parents; actively discussing it will at least open the door for examining assumptions on both sides.
I’d say too soon for politics depends on the kid. If somebody had tried to talk to me about the election in 2000, when I was 12, it probably would have taken a while for me to become interested. I followed the 2004 election pretty closely, and I started scrutinizing various news sources leading up to, during, and after 2006.
I guess, there is a difference between listening to Hannity with your children and talking to them about politics. What I really mean is partisan “we are better than them and here’s why” at such an early age. It seems wrong.
Of course the fact that all I can muster is “it seems wrong” may tell you something.
I don’t mean to suggest that you hide politics from your children, but why start campaigning to them? It’s just odd.
I think the reason “it seems wrong” is because it’s already polarizing a child toward different viewpoints, thinking of them as “wrong” or “evil”. It seems to be an obvious parallel to a fundamentalist parent telling their child that everything outside their particular church is evil and to be treated with contempt.
We already have enough vehement partisans as it is, I don’t think we need to be crafting even more at a young age.
Even without active campaigning children will most likely take on the political leanings of their parents, I don’t think more active pushing of the parents’ side is really necessary.
Although, it could be that I’m just too laid back and not really able to get properly riled up about politics.
I think this very much depends on how they message is given. If you say that Mommy is a Democrat because Republicans are evil greedy people and Mommy is kind and generous and gives to poor people, then the whole message is a failure. It teaches your child not to think and promotes the whole mindless two party system.
If on the other hand, it says Mommy is a Democrat because she agrees with their ideals. She like the fact that they are concerned for the poor etc… She doesn’t like the Republicans because etc… If the Republicans changed their stance on this… and Mommy believed their candidate to be better than the Democratic choice, Mommy would vote for the Republican etc…If you do it that way, you would be encouraging active thought about important issues. I think it would be beneficial if approached this way.
I think that “indoctrinating” kids to think that anyone who opposes you is wrong and stupid, is a bad thing to do. I have a 7-year-old daughter who is very curious about all kinds of things, and she’s asked me what “Democrats” and “Republicans” are. I told her that they are political parties (then, of course, had to explain that the term “party” had nothing to do with cake and gifts), and they both want to help, but they have different ideas about how to go about solving problems. She asked me which I was, and I told her, but I also told her that as she got older, she would have to make up her own mind. More than anything, I’d like to teach my kids to think for themselves, not just parrot whatever I think, feel, or believe.
My main issue with partisanship in general is that we are discouraging empathy. Teaching a child to mistrust “Republicans” or “Liberals” at an early age is no different than imparting any other damaging stereotype.
When we discourage empathy and reward hackism, we discourage decent people from participating in the process.
As a recently converted Democrat, I celebrate good, decent, and moral Republicans as much or more than Democrats with the same qualities. We would be much better served by a more intelligent, more moral, more honest membership of both parties, and this is the type of foundational work that you can do (in norinew’s case) or undo (in the “My kid is Hannitized” case) at a very early age.
I’d much rather my kid grow up to be a smart, responsible Republican than a Democrat-at-all-costs.
There’s a certain age, though, when children are incapable of non-black-and-white judgments. To a large extent, they just want to know who to root for. Nuanced political understanding cannot be developed at just any age.
By the way, I love the sample pages from the Democrat book, especially the one with the little kids cowering as a faceless elephant lumbers by.
In the first W election, WhyKid (6 going on 7 at the time), asked who won the election. That was a rather hard question to answer, as you might guess. When it was all finally decided, he asked again, and we told him Bush. “Is that the guy who wants to destroy the environment and give all the rich people more money?” he asked.
After we stopped laughing, it did occur to me to wonder where he’d come up with that. Turns out that’s what the kids at school were talking about at recess. Kids at school. Trash talking politicians. In first grade.
Kids ARE getting political messages, from all angles, not just their parents. Parents, like in any other personal issue, are responsible for moderating those messages, explaining to the best of their ability and with age appropriate language what the kid is hearing (or mishearing). I don’t see any way to do that - or any way to have a dinner table conversation around election time - without revealing to your kids what your political ideas are. Nor do I think it’s worth it to try to keep it secret.
I don’t have a party affiliation, really. We’ve talked about why (I think both “sides” have good and bad points) and how the parties have changed over time so as to become nearly unrecognizable to Democrats and Republicans of 100 years ago. Like norinew, I emphasize how these are MY ideas, and his father has HIS ideas, and the kids are going to have THEIR ideas, and we can all agree to disagree and work for the things we each feel important without hating each other or anyone else.
You’d have no problem if your kid grew up to be a smart, responsible Democrat than a Republican-at-all-costs, right?
I would certainly explain to my (hypothetical) kids, at an age appropriate level, my beliefs. I would certainly hope that they followed those beliefs as they grew, learned, and became their own person. It’s unfair to do more than explain and hope.
My first political memory is “I Like Ike.” My mother voted for him because he helped win the war. (My father died in 1953.)
But she voted for Democrats afterwards. The Huntley-Brinkley convention coverage was real family entertainment. And we were all for JFK. I don’t know that we were “indoctrinated”–but Democrats & Republicans were discussed.
Later, Mom was an election judge–a nonpartisan office. But hanging out at the voting place reinforced the fact that politics is (are?) real.
I searched in vain for a Liberal equivalent to “Jesus Camp.” This one has Unitarian Universalist & Society of Friends roots, but the program lacks political focus. www.campregis-applejack.com/