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Original poster

taking the kids to vote?

74 replies

Downdog · 05/05/2010 17:25

I'm thinking of taking DD along when I vote.

She is only young (2.5) but very bright and well aware (in her own way) of what is going on, and how we are all making a big collective decision etc etc.

Are you taking yours?

OP posts:

NoahAndTheWhale · 05/05/2010 19:12

Mine won't be coming. I need all my own brain power with no distractions to decide who I want to vote for.

Will need to do this between 9 and 11:30 as this is my child free time for the day.

ChasingSquirrels · 05/05/2010 19:12

no as I did a postal vote.
But have been talking to 7yo ds about it. 4yo ds is blissfully unaware and would have no idea what I was talking about if I tried to explain.

DilysPrice · 05/05/2010 19:12

This is the first election I'm taking them to the polling station for, and they're 7 and 5 (and have being following it to some extent on Newsround).
I'm dreading them repeating the rather...ummm....full-blooded household nickname we've given our local MP at the top of their voices.

It is important to learn these things whilst young to avoid the terrible fate of the young woman I overheard in the 2002 (or was it 2001?) general election who stormed out of her booth to ask the helpers why Tony Blair wasn't on her ballot paper, because she wanted to vote for him. It can probably wait until primary school age though.

wisteriawoman · 05/05/2010 19:12

Will take mine except she wants David Cameron to win - thank the lord she doesn't have a vote!

helyg · 05/05/2010 19:18

I think DS1 (who is 7) became more aware of politics when he watched Barack Obama's inauguration with me on TV. That led him to ask more questions about what we do here.

However he watched one of the Leader's debates with me and said "I know who that is, he is Gordon Brown and he is Prime Minister. And that is David Cameron and he wants to be Prime Minister. Who is the one in the middle, is he interviewing them?" As we live in a marginal constituency with only 200 odd votes seperating the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru I think we may have to teach him more about politics on a local level!

Although my 4 year old DD does think that the Plaid Cymru signs/posters are the prettiest as they have flowers on them

DaisymooSteiner · 05/05/2010 19:21

Tried to explain it to dd whose birthday is next week. I said that it was about 'choosing the next party to be in charge of the country.'

'But I'm having the next party' she said indignantly!

She's 6, so obviously thick if that's her level.

helyg · 05/05/2010 19:26

Ha ha Daisy I had almost the same conversation with DS2 earlier. He is 6 next week.

He thinks that Gordon Brown is "the one with the funny head".

He also seems to think (possibly due to the fact that they are having elections for the school council in his school this week) that if Labour win Gordon Brown will be taking over as his Headmaster.

ReshapeWhileDamp · 05/05/2010 19:29

I have no choice, since DH will be at work by the time I vote! But I'd take DS anyway. My parents always took me and I got really into it - my mum let me do the little cross on the paper and everything!

I'd give the pencil to DS tomorrow and let him do likewise, but he'll spoil my ballot, being 2! He can settle for posting the paper into the slot, he'll like that.

NoahAndTheWhale · 05/05/2010 19:38

DH was talking about the election with DD (4) and she seemed to think that David Cameron would win and hoped that he would put "two new blue swings in the park as there are only two and lots of people like going on them so there should be four".

OhYouBadBadKitten · 05/05/2010 19:40

dd (10) will go with us. Tis a ritual we have every election, that we (or dh if I'm on a polling station) take her before school.

Daisy that is very sweet

alp · 05/05/2010 19:48

I think I need to speak in more detail to my DD (6) as on the phone to my mum she asked who she was going to vote for. My mum explained who, DD then innocently asked 'what show are they from?'

I think we watch too many Who will be the next Dorothy XFactor Talent Shows

ASmallBunchOfFlowers · 05/05/2010 19:49

My dd may well come with me while I vote. She first went to a polling station when she was five days old, so she has been active in politics from a very early age.

ButterPie · 05/05/2010 20:01

Yep, both DDs, in best clothes, will be taken to see mummy and daddy vote and then for an ice cream.

Tbf, they were in the candidates leaflet, being a local family :D

ButterPie · 05/05/2010 20:06

Also, they have rather political names anyway (Marianne, ie the symbol of the french revolution and Emmeline, ie the campaigner for women's votes) so they kind of are going to be brought up knowing about politics...

We are going to have a house election tomorrow, to decide what is for tea. DD1 is 3.2, so she will get a vote, not sure if DD2 who is not quite 6 months, will get a vote though...

anastaisia · 05/05/2010 20:18

Taking DD (just 5)

She is voting for Nick Clegg because apparently 'Ed Balls is a liar, Diana Johnson is the Devil and Graham Stuart lives somewhere else' (all her own words I swear!)

She has obviously absorbed some things from me and the home ed stuff. But I honestly don't know where the Nick Clegg bit came from, I've talked about our local Lib Dem PPC, but not Clegg.

I may take some spare paper for her to write on so she doesn't spoil my ballot.

gingercat12 · 05/05/2010 20:28

My parents always dressed up into their best clothes and took me.

Of course, I will take DS.

loulou77 · 05/05/2010 20:39

I have only just, this minute on another thread, learned that you can take children with you to the polling station...I am clearly not bright and aware! The only reason I know anything about the election campaigns is because DD will ONLY listen to Radio 4...not because she is bright and aware but because...she is 4 (we progressed from Radio 3 in October).

zapostrophe · 05/05/2010 20:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Concordia · 05/05/2010 22:29

actually i don't the op is being precious. in the euro elections i explained to DS, who is now nearly4, so i guess he was 2,10m at the time, all about the different coloured people and how you decided who you wanted to be in charge by putting a cross on the paper and putting it in the box. his dad took him too and did the same thing adn then a few weeks later when there was footage of the iranian elections on the tv (just the elections, not the demonstrations that came later) he said, look mummy it's a vote!
maybe i am precious but proud too..
he wants me to vote green as it's his favourite colour.

joannabaranna · 06/05/2010 20:46

To my 2.5 year old: Which team do you think is going to win, Bertie: reds, blues or yellows?
Bertie: Me. I have the winning team.
Me: Hmm, I don't think you're on the list of people to choose from.
Bertie: I am. We are the black team.
Top that op: MY 2.5 year old has actually been campaigning for his own election, without even letting on to me.

BelleDameSansMorals · 06/05/2010 20:49

So, I explained to my DD (2.8) that I had to vote to choose who was going to be charge. She told me that she was going to be in charge...

AdairYouToVoteLibDem · 06/05/2010 20:57

I don't think it's precious either. Agree we explain things we do, so that they begin to understand. Dd was at nursery but I took ds 21mths who played with a biscuit. Prob would have explained more to dd at that age. On the way, I did do lots of 'come on darling, we need to go and VOTE to keep the Tories out'. But I don't think he got the urgency.

Babieseverywhere · 06/05/2010 21:12

I was surprised when 3.8 year old DD seems very interested in our walk down to the local polling station. I had explained we were going to vote and that was when mummy made a cross on a piece of paper.

When we got there she was so disappointed...But where is the boat, mummy ?

spiderlight · 06/05/2010 21:16

DS (3) came with me. He's been vaguely aware of the election and asking things like 'Mummy, what's Tory?' for the past few weeks. This morning I said 'Remeber I told you there was going to be a big competition to see who's going to be the boss of the whole country...' and he replied 'Oh mummy - is it you??'

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