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“Let’s not talk about politics!”

Who has not heard or said this phrase at the Sunday dinner table in recent years, especially where elections are taking place? “Politics must be something bad, right?” – our children, especially small ones, should think.

Unfortunately, most often the word “politics” is mentioned in adult conversations in a negative context. But Politics is the art of negotiation, understanding, and also one of the main instruments of Democracy. Its goal is to smooth the lines between different interests and come to a common denominator necessary for life in society. Children don’t know this, and whenever they hear bad things about this Policy, never in a good way. What should I do to change this image? How can we talk about this with our young children, explain to them that politics can be a way to build a better world for us to live in?

This is one of the challenges set by Portal Lunetas, specialized in children, an initiative of the Alana Institute, which has been broadcast since 2018. As there are elections for several important positions this year, such as President of the Republic, Governor, Federal Deputy and Senator, Lunetas has prepared a series of special materials to help fathers and mothers understand the importance of talking about politics with their children. “One way is to tell kids that politics protect our rights,” Lunetas manager Raquel de Paula explains in an interview with the blog. The content also makes adults think, remembering that public policies targeting children should be included in government candidate programs, and that this is an important point that fathers and mothers should consider when choosing their representatives.

Blog: Many people speak badly about politics in public, adults usually say it out loud, in front of children, and they can pass on this negativity even unintentionally to their children. How does Lunetas see this topic and her relationship with her children, Raquel?

Rachel/Spyglasses: The work we do is work based on the assumption that we live in a society that is a village that looks at the child, which means that we say that my children, your children and the children of others are our constitutional and moral responsibility. So, we are talking about education, politics, parenting, motherhood, and this is not a separate discussion, but a collective discussion. When we consider only the father and mother responsible for this child, we neglect the responsibility of state authorities, organizations, and schools. So I think it’s important to make this assumption, because when we realize that it takes a village to take care of this child, our whole idea of ​​childhood and children changes.

And politics is done daily, routinely. There is a quote from an activist we like a lot, Pedro Marco: “politics is a magic wand that turns the world into what we dream of”. So, when we are going to talk to children about politics, or even when we are going to bring up this topic in a conversation between adults, politics should not be seen as something bad, but should be understood as the space we are talking about. our life, our existence, our daily life, about the things we want to change.

When we transfer this knowledge to a child, he will understand that the way he exists, how he communicates, how he goes to school, how he treats his friends, everything is political. So I think the start of this conversation is to present this view of politics as something good, so that children can relate to this topic, they need to understand that everything around them is political.

Blog: And what examples can we give to make this idea tangible, to show that everything about her parents’ life and her life is the result of a political decision or a society that makes politics?

Rachel/Spyglasses: One way is to tell the child that politics is what upholds our rights, affirms democracy, and, above all, that politics is action. And what does this mean in practice? A child who plays, watching the surrounding objects, what is a playground, what is the space, this dispute cannot be abstract for children, as for us, for example, we are talking about freedom, we are talking about democracy. For a child, this is everyday life, this is a relationship with a school friend, how he feels, how he goes to school, where he lives, whether he rides a bus or a car. This characterization of the territory and environment of the child is a way for us to explain how things are formed, and also to explain to children that they have the right to education, culture, the right to play, the right to life, the right to health and that all this is part of a great society, which must ensure that all these rights are respected.

Blog: Nowadays it is very difficult to understand and respect the opinions of others. And Politics is a two-way road, where you express your opinion, listen to the opinion of another, try to convince him, agree, in short. How to convey this to children so that they understand how important it is to respect themselves, to listen to an opinion different from their own?

Rachel/Spyglasses: When we think of this child in this place of the political subject, and when I say “subject”, I understand that this child is the same person as we are, only less. The main way for us is to promote and encourage the right of children to participate from the very beginning, from the very beginning of life. And what does this mean in practice? We need to listen to children, we need to know what they want, what they like, what their perception of the environment is. And then, when you include this child in this conversation, he begins to conduct the same conversation with other children, and then on the basis of this construction we have student unions, elections in schools, children’s groups. All this is very important for the child to grow up with the understanding that there is a group of children who are different from him and, therefore, may have different opinions.

And then we form in this child the view of the listener, the view of non-violent speech, the view of respect, the view of society. If you have children with disabilities in the classroom, black children, there are children from other social strata, because we have diversity in itself, we are already talking about politics, we are already talking, first of all, about different contexts. This is where consciousness is built, which is often a more imaginary consciousness, not as concrete as ours, but it is in this school environment that the best mechanisms are created for us to create this universe of talking, listening, sharing, empathizing.

Raquel de Paula, manager of Lunetas

Blog: So, in your opinion, does the school play an important role in this political education of children?

Rachel/Spyglasses: Yes, completely. We cannot place all responsibility on the school, but the school is the environment in which democracy is established. There you can see the other, you can build friendships, you can develop empathy, and I think all of our values ​​are given in the community. And it is in the community that we learn our values, we learn to put ourselves in the place of others. Thus, the school has this super important role: to help this child understand what is around him and to put into practice attitudes, anxieties, attachments and educate children so that one day they can exercise their full power to act on choice.

Blog: And how can we talk to children about this world that surrounds them and which can also be changed by politics?

Rachel/Spyglasses: Children perceive what surrounds them. And I think that this very moment, when the child brings the news, commenting on what he saw or heard, is the most important and relevant moment for the implementation of this policy building. Much more than we adults say, “Listen, son, sit here and we’re going to talk about politics,” this child will bring it into a routine, on a daily basis, in his relationship with the school. I think that just this daily routine, in these actions, the child will bring a lot of things, which means that it is time for us to deepen these issues, since this child brought this content.

Blog: The Lunetas portal has prepared a series of materials about politics and elections for children. Like this?

Rachel/Spyglasses: We have launched a series of content that highlights who votes for children. Considering that they cannot vote, but they are the people, who protects the right of these children to vote? So our invitation to the public is that we look at the plans of the government, ask the candidates what they are planning and planning for children, are we talking about the expansion of the kindergarten, are we talking about basic sanitation, if we are talking about quality education, humanized childbirth, in a word, about all children’s surroundings. Our appeal to society as a whole is that we protect the rights of children in elections, because they cannot do this. We listened to 40 children from all the states of Brazil and asked what they would do if they were president, what would change in Brazil if they were president. And then we have wonderful answers, and I think that whoever listens to her will like her very much.

Read and watch the special edition of Lunetas here “Children in the spotlight: who votes for children?“.

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