Political discussions with your kids

Even though it's only September, I am overwhelmed with the number of political advertisements bombarding my home.  On the TV, in the mail, over the phone, everyone wants to sell me on their candidate or cause.  There is no doubt in my mind that this upcoming election is going to be a hot topic for us all.  This includes our children.  If they are old enough to go to school, most likely they are going to have lessons about our Presidents, the election process and even some of the causes of the day.  Their peers are going to talk about it.  They're going to hear discussions from teachers and other adults.

Your job as a mother is to be informed yourself and find ways to bring your children into conversations concerning the election in November.  They need to know what you believe in and why.  You need to be open with them so their questions can be discussed and misconceptions cleared up.  Even adults get confused with all the conflicting information swirling around!  Your children may be too young to vote, but they are old enough to start forming their own opinions and values.

One rule that I have is if I want to know about a person running for office, I will NOT look at or listen to information about him or her that is furnished by the opposition.  Why would they give me an accurate depiction of someone they want to defeat?  Instead, I'll search the particular person's record and values and weigh their supporter's endorsements to see how closely their beliefs match mine.  I'll look up his or her official website.  You can tell your older children to do the same, or better yet, do it together and learn together. 

It's going to be an interesting couple of months coming up.  I already keep the TV remote close by so I can mute the political commercials.  :)  I suggest you do the same!