October Family Challenge: Watch A Presidential Debate As A Family

I am in love with October.  Fall is here and the air is cool and fresh and pleasant.  The trees are vibrant and the apples are oh so yummy.  This is my first fall in New England and it has been delightful.  Among all the wonderful things there is to enjoy this time of year my husband has introduced me into the world of campaigns and elections.  October is an important month for campaigns because it is Debate Month.

I realize that not everyone is as aware and excited about this as I am.  You see my husband is working on a Presidential campaign and that means campaigning has become our ENTIRE life.  As I have entered the world of politics I’ve realize how important it is for my kids to know what is going on in the world and for them to have a desire to be involved and make a difference.

I admire many families I know who have comfortable conversations with their kids about policies, issues, foreign countries, and candidates. My family didn’t have such conversations so I’m trying to have them with my kids.

The October Family Challenge is to watch a Presidential debate (Oct 3rd, Oct 16th, Oct 22nd) and then have a conversation with your family about your thoughts on country, family, policy, duty, and citizenship.

I am sure this can be adapted to all ages.  My 2 year old is very aware of who President Obama is and Governor Romney.  You can easily explain the election process, that you have to be 18 to vote, that there are 2 main parties, that the President serves for 4 years…. Or you can get more detailed and talk about the basic beliefs of Democrats and Republicans, electoral college, and your specific beliefs about the issues in the debates.

I know this will lead to healthy and beneficial conversation for the whole family.  It all starts with educated parents who understand what is going on in our nation and share that knowledge with their kids.

I was impressed when I heard about a family who after the debate were inspired to get involved.  The kids in the family came up with the idea of doing more chores around the house so they could send their hard earned money to Mitt to help him win.  And they did.

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