During an election year, your children might come up to you for questions about politics. It can be difficult, though, to explain the election and everything that has to do with politics to someone younger. Fortunately, you can take some smaller steps to help them easily learn about politics and the government. Here are a few ways you start teaching your children about politics.
Roles
Before explaining who is in a current role in the government, you need to teach your children what those roles are meant to do. For example, you should explain to your children that the president is responsible for looking after all Americans by passing laws and paying attention to important issues that face us all today. You can slowly go down the list of roles until your children have a good grasp of the most important roles in the United States government. Make sure that you always teach your children about political roles before getting too in-depth.
The Past
Teaching your children the past politics is just as important as teaching them about the present day. To teach them about history, you should go to the emergence of America before the Revolutionary War. You can explain to your children the various issues that led to the United States of America, such as taxation without representation.
You should also think about taking your children to any historical museums in your area. It can be a lot more interesting for children to see historical artifacts and connect them to our history instead of just reading a book the entire time. Always teach your children about the history of the United States when teaching them about the political system.
Branches
Along with important political roles and the past of the United States, you should teach them about the various branches of the government. You should be teaching your children about this because they must know why we have checks and balances in this country. Your children should understand that checks and balances exist to help save everyone from someone who might want more power than they deserve.
For example, you can tell your children that the president has a right to veto a law. They should know, though, that Congress can come back and override that veto, ensuring that Americans have a law that most of Congress agree with even if the president doesn’t. Make sure that you teach your children about the various branches of the government when teaching them about politics.