9 Ways to Encourage Your Daughter to Study Politics For Fun!

How do we get our daughters involved in politics? Hmmm…
I wanted my daughter to love her curly hair, because I had to buy my curls. So, I brainwashed her from the time she could walk. It worked for a long time, but then it went the way of Cabbage Patch?Babies?along with my daughter’s clipped, long curls.

So, brainwashing is?out. But, with a woman running again in 2016, this is the perfect time to get our daughters involved in politics. So here are 9 ways to encourage our girls and young women to leap into the world of democracy!

1. Politics For Dinner. I loved it when my Uncle Earl asked me what young people my age were thinking. There is no better dinner than one where the conversation races back and forth across the table. Make sure your children get a chance to share their opinions. Studying politics can be fun!
2. Make Volunteering An Important Part Of Life. Did you know that 60 percent of women in the 113^th Congress started out as Girl Scouts? Who knew!?! I sent my daughter to Mexico twice when she was in junior high to help build churches. It will impact them far more than we realize at the time.
3. Encourage Your School To Have Adult/Kid Polls. My sister took her three youngsters to the presidential polls. That automatically opens up the conversation. Who did you pick? What do you think makes him or her a good politician? It opens the door to studying politics.
4. Have A Strong Woman Home. My mother was before her time. She told us that women are just as smart as men?if not slightly smarter. Fortunately Dad agreed. So I headed out into the business world ready to lead. A word of caution: not all men are ready for us, but the ones who are-they’re great!
5. Go Check Out The Competition. If a candidate of any kind comes to town, take your daughter to participate in the enthusiasm. When Secretary of State John Kerry was running for president, I gathered up my daughter and a niece from two of my sisters’ homes. It was great fun. Nothing beats the buzz of anticipation! Each of us got a different political button, and we talked about the experience for years.
6. Check Out Strong Women From Your State/Family History. Kansas is boiling over with stories about strong women. But, closer to my world was my grandmother Ada Ferguson Christie, who lived in a sod house when she first married, washed clothes with a washboard, and cooked with a wood stove until she died. Look into your own family tree!
7. Have A Treasure Hunt In A Museum For Interesting Women. Check out the biographies and autobiographies about amazing women in your area. Then, both of you decide which museum would be best. Check out your state’s Historical Society for more information.
8. Ask About Government, Debate, and Legal Programs At Her School. My daughter came into this world debating. I am surprised she didn’t turn out to be an attorney. But, this skill can make life so much easier for her if she decides to go into some aspect of political service. Look for amazing facts about women such as?Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was Oklahoma’s top high school debater.
9. Take A Day Trip Back In History. How much fun would it be to head out to Amelia Earhart’s home, where that world-class pilot lived in Atchison, Kansas? Then, study the politics!? Find out where she grew up, jumped off of buildings (don’t try this at home), and grew into the adventurous woman she was. Then, read her biography.

Now, go out and make it so!