Developing Our Youngest Citizens
by Cecilia Clark
How young is too young to teach your child about civics and the responsibility of being a citizen? According to experts, it’s never too early — age appropriateness, of course! You wouldn’t launch into a discussion about the Supreme Court and the role of the judiciary with your three-year-old. But you might talk about how their actions affect the family and how picking up their toys is an act of respect and social responsibility towards other household members.
“The first lesson in civics is that efficient government begins at home.” Charles Evans Hughes
Young children begin understanding how society works by being part of a family. Learning to participate in the family with simple tasks such as helping each other and learning to take responsibility for their behavior is “civics in action.” As children venture into preschool, kindergarten, birthday parties, and beyond, these simple acts sow the seeds for youngsters to become contributing and compassionate citizens.
Family enjoying the World Market at the museum.
Fostering the Values of Citizenship and Civility
Talk to your children about social responsibility. Encourage sharing at home and during playdates. Even though sharing is a difficult concept for very young children, you can begin with “my turn, your turn” conversations and discuss how their actions affect others.
Take your child to the voting polls with you. Talk about the importance of voting. Explain to your child about the concept of choice — they understand this — the notion of personal and shared responsibility in a democracy will come later. Tagging along with you will pay dividends in the future.
Volunteer with your young children for short time commitments, so it’s manageable. These actions demonstrate that making a difference in the community knits us together through our shared humanity. Exposing children to the struggles and inequities in the world helps explain and understand people who are different from us. This ideally breeds compassion for children and families who live with different circumstances and experiences than our own.
Talk about diversity. Young children develop a keen sense of fairness at an early age. They are eagerly learning within a family what’s right and wrong. Two to three-year-olds start to become aware of the differences between boys and girls and become curious about skin color and physical disabilities. It’s a good time to openly talk about the differences in society.
Proud of My Family weekend at the museum.
“Children recognize gender differences and skin color differences by age four or earlier — whether or not those differences exist in their own community,” said Beatrice Fennimore, professor of teacher and teaching training at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
This can make adults uncomfortable and feel that by pointing out differences reveals bias. Not so. It’s only when adults assign judgment to the differences that bias creeps in.
One way is to share stories of the contributions that people from other countries have made. Talk about the foods and celebrations that are now part of the American experience because of the people who have come from other places to make the United States their home.
Children of the Dragon Festival held annually in April.
Our Cultural Celebration Series is a good example of some of the festivals that are celebrated in Silicon Valley, one of the most diverse regions in the country. Each year we offer the Diwali Festival, the Lantern Festival, Children of the Dragon Festival, the Three Kings Festival and five others.
It’s important to us that we provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds to explore the many cultures and traditions in the Bay Area.
Select a variety of toys and books. There’s a treasure trove of books and toys that will expose your child to the diversity and variety of people and ideas, and that represent the values you desire.
Citizenship ceremony for young people at Children’s Discovery Museum.
Modeling behavior to groom little citizens is at the core of parenting. It’s not easy work. But it’s important work. Teaching your child that they belong and they play an important role in creating a world we all want to live in is not child’s play.
“The practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene pool. It must be taught and learned anew by each generation of citizens.” – Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
