Research shows that civic engagement, like voting and volunteering, often starts at home. Marion Menard (2010) found that parents and family play a big role in shaping young people’s sense of social responsibility. Early family conversations are often kids’ first lessons in debating ideas, expressing opinions, and standing up for what matters.
A study by Constance Flanagan and colleagues (1995) across seven countries confirmed this. Teens were more likely to get involved in their communities when their families modelled social values and responsibility.
For me, this was definitely true. I started voting as soon as I could, and soon after I began volunteering, and my dad was my biggest influence. Our elementary school was right across the street from our home, and it served as a voting station. Every election, my dad and I would walk over together. Voting became a natural tradition.
He also volunteered for over forty years as a friendly visitor at a local nursing home. He approached both voting and volunteering with enthusiasm and consistency. Watching him made me value giving back, and exercising my civic rights. Now, I vote and volunteer too, but across many causes. Thanks to my dad, I caught the civic engagement bug early, and it has stuck.
If parents ask how to raise socially responsible kids, my advice is simple: lead by example.
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