Be a Good Citizen

It's election time and it's the perfect time of year to show your child how to be a good citizen.  Lessons learned early on will help your child grow up to be a helpful, responsible member of the community. Start by showing your child what good citizens do - and then let him or her do his or her part.  Here are some ideas to get started.

Find role models. Let your child see good citizens at work.  Take him or her to a fire or rescue station.  Just make sure you call ahead to find out a good time to visit. Sometimes, preschools even arrange group tours. Your child may be able to sit inside emergency vehicles and hear firefighters or rescue workers describe their jobs. 

Another way to show your child how to get involved in the community is to volunteer in a soup kitchen around the holidays or clean up the neighborhood.

Take action. At home, discuss ways your child can be a good citizen.  He or she can encourage family members to wear seatbelts by posting a sign in the car.  Help your child write, "Click it!" and have him or her draw and color a self-portrait wearing a seatbelt. 

This time of year it's important to help others in need.  Your child can donate old or new toys to charity or boxes of toiletries to send to soldiers.

Discover democracy. Explain to your child that adults have a say in government whey they vote to choose leaders such as mayors and presidents.  Suggest that your child participate in the process by writing a letter to the President of the United States.  Your child can dictate sentences to you about things he or she cares about ("I'm worried about dogs that don't have homes").  Help you child mail the letter to:  The President, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20500.

Here is one final suggestion. When you vote in November, make sure you bring your child into the voting booth. Children learn by example and it is important to teach good citizenship lessons that will last a lifetime.