OH MOM AND DAD

I’m sure all of you who are parents have heard it before; “Oh Dad” or “Oh Mom, not now” with the inevitable eye roll.  This might apply to a parent asking their child to clean their room, to come in when it gets dark outside, or even to stop making that annoying tapping noise.  The “Oh Mom” and eye roll was how I responded to my mother’s many attempts to instill in me an interest in “all things political”.

I spent many family dinners with the, “what happened in local, state and national politics today” talk going in one ear and out the other.  I remember playing on the church playground while my mother would be helping with voter registration or helping on election day.  I can even still hear the voice of Pat Robertson with the 700 Club on the TV every morning while my mother made me breakfast.

Throughout the years my mother became sneakier with her attempts to make me more politically aware.  Every car ride that lasted longer than ten minutes became the perfect opportunity for discussions concerning the political and social issues of the day.  And you can imagine, in Southwest Kansas there are endless opportunities for hours of driving.

I’m sure my mother became discouraged, but luckily she never gave up on me.  My mother understood the scripture in Proverbs 22:6, stating: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  My mother knew it was her job as a parent to make me politically aware so that once I was off on my own I would know what I believed and why.   One of her favorite sayings was, “If you don’t know what you stand for – you’ll fall for anything.”

In the last ten years something must have clicked.  Maybe it was one of our three hour trips to Wichita, Kansas, one of mom’s forwarded e-mails to my college student account, or maybe one of her nightly prayers.  I am now an on-fire mover and shaker for the liberty movement and best of all – working for the industry’s leader in conservative training here at American Majority.

For all of you parents out there who are feeling discouraged, this article should help you see that everything you do will shape your children.  If your children seem disinterested and impartial towards political issues, or they even do their share of eye rolling – don’t be discouraged.  A child’s first and most influential form of socialization is their family and what you do influences your children on a deeper level.

Who knows how one random event can influence your child’s outlook on life and politics?  Take your children door-to-door with you while you share information concerning the candidates you support and/or issues that are important to you.  Put on pretend election days at your house.  Or even get sneaky and take those long car rides with your kids and lock the door for a long discussion.  It will sink in and things will click when they are meant to.  Trust me.  The eye rolls are worth it and they will thank you later.