“Yard sign! No punch backs!” Take A Child to Vote

Posted November 7th, 2006 by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

“Yard sign! No punch backs!” is a common refrain yelled with joyful exuberance from my backseat these days. My two children, ages ten and seven, have taken politics to a new, uncharted level. They’ve picked their favorite political yard signs and made a variation on the “Slug Bug” game–the game where you pick a VW bug car of a certain color and whoever sees it first gets to softly punch the person next to them.

It’s safe to say that some short members of my household are going to be very, very sad when the election is over tonight (yes, tonight!) and the yard signs come down.

Tuesday, November 7th is here. It’s time to vote, time to remind all friends and family to vote, and time to… take a child to vote…

TAKE A CHILD TO VOTE TODAY: Why? Well, in the words of my 10 year old, “It sorta will help teach kids it’s good to vote, and it also sorta helps kids’ parents because their own kids might have good suggestions about who to vote for, and also the kids can learn their own little ways of how to decide who to vote for in the future.”

This is from the same kid who recently said, “If absolutely nobody voted, then we’d end up with a baby or bank robber elected to office–and no one wants that!”

Seriously, studies show taking children to vote with you, or even having them help fill out the bubbles of your absentee ballot on the kitchen counter, helps them remember to vote when they grow up. So by bringing a child to vote, you are not only turning in your own vote in the present moment, you’re also building our future democracy.

This is vitally important because right now more young people (aged fifteen to twenty-six years old) know the name of the fictional hometown for the television family the Simpsons than know the political party of their state’s governor or the political party that controls Congress. And, voter participation among young people has been dropping much faster than that of any other segment of our society. Bringing kids to vote will help turn that trend around, and ensure a vital democracy in the years to come.

VOLUNTEER TO WATCH A CHILD OR 2 WHILE A FRIEND VOTES: Okay, so it’s not always so easy to take what sometimes amounts to a traveling circus with you to vote. Give a friend a break and volunteer to watch a child or two, or three, or more while the parents take time to go vote. Heck you can start your own homework and traveling circus show while giving democracy a leg up. Maybe even throw in a speech to the kids you’re watching about the importance of them voting in the future and get good karma points for democracy.

BUG, BOTHER, SEND, & FUN: Bug friends, bother family, send e-mails to your entire list reminding people to vote today! And remember to have fun–make voting a snazzy field trip, a dramatic moment of power, a snapshot in time to recall in later years.

Then let’s cross our fingers that we all celebrate later tonight knowing we bugged, badgered, volunteered, and even lectured small children to our fullest potential!

Happy Election Day! – Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and the MomsRising.org Team

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Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is the Executive Director of MomsRising.org, a national organization with more than a million members advocating for family economic security.

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November 8, 2006 at 4:09 pm by Anonymous

(email to friend, who forwarded your story to me)

Anna:

I will look up momsrising.

I took the whole travelling circus with me to vote, and it was great. While Martin chummed with the polling volunteers, Illahee checked out all the tables and stations, and Conner stood at my elbow and watched me “complete the arrows” as our current method directs. We had electronic voting in the last election, and this time we completed teh middle of an arrow pointing to our choice. On the way out, we stood by the flag marking the polling place, and reviewed the meaning and details of our star-spangled-banner. Last week we discussed the song in great detail. I like it better now. We all got “I voted” stickers.

Not sure, but I think we made someone’s day. When we stopped at the flag, an elderly vet-looking man was getting into his car to go. He stared sternly at us when we stopped at the flag, perhaps to be sure the kids weren’t going to do anything untoward to it. Then he heard me asking Illahee if she knew how many stars there are, and why, and he pretended to be taking his time getting going. We discussed the colors of the flag, and why we use them. By the end, I really think I saw him wipe his eyes. When we left the parking lot, he was still parked there.

Also found out Martin’s babysitter really wants to vote, but hadn’t registered because she was afraid she could lose her business if she has to do jury duty. I assured her that she would be excused due to being a sole business owner (EuiJeong always is), but it really struck me that there might be a lot of fictitious reasons which keep people away from the polls. EuiJeong is actually looking forward to serving one day, and me, too. Just so it isn’t a grisly trial of any kind.

Anyway, off to see if the kids have started watching “Avatar”. It’s our new family addiction. Spent the day hiking in a beautiful nature preserve with a bunch of homeschoolers.

Homeschooling is illegal in Germany because school is part of the national cultural experience. Wonder if they have mandatory TV programs, too –just to make sure everyone has the same input and experience. That would be very convenient, but what to do with folks who are too busy doing other things to watch TV?

Talk more soon.

Christa

Anna Isozaki wrote:
Hi Christa,

I thought this was an original take on the “vote” message – are you
familiar with Moms Rising? They’re new, I think, and I don’t know much
about them, but anyway, here it is!

Love you!

Anna

Fw: Take A Child To Vote Today!
Forwarded by Anna Isozaki

“Yard sign! No punch backs!” Take A Child to Vote

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