Engage to Change: A New Year’s Resolution to Talk Politics with Your Kids

By: Lindsey Cormack, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Political Science at Stevens Institute of Technology; Sam Shoge, Civic Engagement Thought Leader and Partner at Rivers & Roads Consulting.

Excert shared from Dr. Cormack’s blog. Read the full post here.

Instead of New Year’s resolutions to get more sleep or eat better, we propose a different kind of commitment for parents: to discuss politics with your children.

The upcoming 2024 presidential election will be the first national election for teenagers and young adults aged 17 to 21. Though some are registered to vote and have participated in midterm, state, or local elections, none of these young people have experienced a presidential election year with the possibility of influencing the outcome. While exciting, it’s concerning that any of our young people lack the foundational knowledge to navigate our political system, which is why it’s not surprising that they are the least likely age group to vote with just 25% of them participating in the 2022 midterms and 50% participating in the last presidential election.

Whereas 2020 had the highest youth voter turnout of all time, there are reasons to think 2024 will see a decline. We are no longer in the exceptional situation of a world in lockdown. The pandemic’s unique circumstances that led to increased political engagement, such as extended family time and widespread mail-in voting, have since faded, and 19 states have passed 34 laws to make voting more restrictive.

Much as we’d love a collective resolution for our K-12 schools to do more to teach children about our system and how to participate in it, the more realistic option is for parents to recognize that we are the first, last, and best option to bear the responsibility of raising civically capable children.

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