Parent Prep: 4 Ways to Empower Healthy Civic Engagement in Your Kids in an Election Season.
With the 2024 election just around the corner, there’s no better time to actively prepare our children for the civic responsibilities that lie ahead of them.
During our RIISE Parent Prep Series, we had the privilege of hearing from Tracy Fedonchik, Head of School at St. Luke’s NYC, who shared invaluable advice on how parents and educators can navigate the complexities of election season with kids. Whether it’s a planned conversation or an unexpected one, these moments matter.
Here are our 4 key tips to help our kids voice to our kids and foster healthy civic engagement:
1. Ask Them What Matters Most
This helps establish their values and opens up a meaningful dialogue.
2. Encourage Curiosity
Be open to their questions and explore what they’ve heard in the media or from peers.
3. Simplify the Process
Keep explanations clear and accessible; a deep dive into election mechanics isn’t necessary for younger children.
4. Join Them on the Journey
Embrace democracy together, learning and growing alongside your child.
Ready to empower young voices? Be sure to watch Part 1 and Part 2 of our series, Empowering Young Voices: Engaging Students Under 13 for the Nov 4 Election, on our @4RIISE Instagram or website.
Take action today—let’s guide our kids to be thoughtful, informed participants in their democracy!
Resources for Children:
Sesame Street Workshop Resources: Sesame Workshop is a global impact nonprofit organization with a mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.
iCivics: iCivics is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing civic learning by providing educators and students with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to embrace and engage in our civic life together.
PBS Learning Media & PBS Kids City Island: “PBS KIDS is committed to meeting kids where they are and making learning accessible in multiple formats,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS. “We’re excited to continue building our short form content library, and to tackle civics with CITY ISLAND in such a vibrant and engaging way.”
BrainPOP Social Studies: BrainPOP was founded in 1999 as a creative way to explain difficult concepts to young children. The content has expanded to include
Crash Course: At Crash Course, they believe that high quality educational videos should be available to everyone for free. Crash Course transforms the traditional textbook model by presenting information in a fast-paced format, enhancing the learning experience.
Resources for Educators and Caregivers:
A Starting Point: A Starting Point is a video-based civic engagement platform. ASP’s mission is to create a bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials with the goal of creating a more informed electorate.
Current Events Toolkit (Facing History): This toolkit provides flexible and adaptable tools and strategies for integrating current events into your teaching or home discussions.
AllSides: AllSides Technologies Inc. strengthens our democratic society with balanced news, media bias ratings, diverse perspectives, and real conversation. The websites exposes people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world — and each other.
Close Up Current Issues Blog: The Current Events and Social Issues Blog for teachers, updated weekly throughout the school year, helps them connect current events to their students and classrooms. The Close Up Foundation informs, inspires, and empowers young people to exercise their rights and accept the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy.
Learning for Justice: Civics for Democracy: Civics literacy is crucial if our nation is to achieve an inclusive, multiracial democracy. The learning journeys and resources in this series can help to develop the civic knowledge, skills and dispositions essential for responsible civic engagement – including the power of the vote.
Rock the Vote: Rock the Vote draws on decades of experience to deploy the most effective and impactful messages, tactics, and technology to uplift and empower the largest, most diverse generation in U.S. history. They do this while also pioneering innovative ways to make democratic participation more accessible and defending young people’s right to vote.