(My dad said “Get Out There and Vote Today”)
Single dads, hopefully you voted yesterday, and explained the importance of it to your children! Here are a few questions children might ask, and as a dad, you might decide to discuss with your kids:
Why should you vote?
Why is this such an important day?
How do you decide who to vote for?
Now for a little trivial pursuit (for you diehards, who know much about history or want to learn) while we consider the pursuit of our happiness, on this historic Election Day November 6, 2012. I used to play Trivial Pursuit with my Dads and ask them lots of history questions, not just on Election Day. They always seemed to know the answers and if not…read on, and see what they taught me!
Did you know….? …. and, hard for me to believe.
“This was the most expensive presidential race in American history.” (Source: The New York Times)
As you watch and listen to the results of Election Day be recapped and reviewed today, here are some Election Day Trivial Pursuit questions for you to have fun with as well:
1. What is the significance of February 4, 1789?
2. In what year was the first census passed which determined how many delegates each state would have in the house?
3. Who wrote the first bill of rights? (Hint: A Virginia Statesman)
4. Who said this: “I live a dull life here. I never go into any public place. Indeed I am more like a state prisoner than anything else… And I cannot do as I like, I am obstinante and stay home a great deal.” ?
5. What does E Pluribus Unum mean and where can it be found?
For the answers, just ask me in the comments.
And… Let’s not forget a lesson from my dads today (besides his advice, which is the title of this post):
Single Dad Lesson #4: “Don’t look like a smarty pants. If you don’t know the answer, look it up.”
I am guilty of not always following either of their advice or this rule. Both dad’s called me “the storyteller.” I was notorious for always having an answer, but not always the correct answer.
The truth is, truth does matter.
Sandy F. was a tyrant when it came to lying. He would charge me money every time I was wrong, and it cost me a lot of hard earned money–and it was literally a pain in the butt (when I was little). I always thought my answers were logical and creative. According to Sandy F. so were his punishments: Spending the day sitting in the bathtub (with no water) and also the taste of ivory soap on my breath.
So I became a truth teller. Maybe too much so!
I would say to Sandy F. when I got a little older, “Dad Don’t forget the 8th Amendment.” So I guess as a little girl I learned a little something about my constitutional rights (smile.) However, looking back, I was a pretty brazen little girl. I would say to one or the other dad, when they were not paying attention. ” I’m going to ask my other Dad.” That usually got some kind of response!
Oh boy… what a handful… and actually… I still am!
As I grew up, I was given several nickname – one called me SAJB and the other BM. I’m not going to tell everyone what that stood for, but try me in the comment’s section :-).
Single Dad Lesson # 5: Don’t Lie (that goes for parents too)
COMING UP: Why politics matter to single dads
With that in mind, I would like your feedback: If you are a single dad, how do you see politics as a way of bringing you closer to your kids and your kids closer to you?
COMING UP SOON: a story about my political grand mother, the mother of one of my single dads, with excerpts from an interview after she served as an ambassador for the United States.
I wonder who my grandmother would have voted for ?
SINGLE DADS BLOG 
Cindy,
Great thoughts and good questions. Ya got me stumped on a few of them. I’ve found politics a great way to engage with my kids on a meaningful level, and avoids the forced small talk that’s likely to be met with a shrug. I make a point of having the news on when they are with me it it really is far more interesting than “Dancing with the Stars”! There are so many levels of discussion, from the merits of a bill before Congress to a lawmaker’s latest gaffe. They become engaged in the process, which leads them to be more likely to vote when they are of age. It also helps them hold their own in classroom discussions and hallway arguments with their friends. But most important, it helps to provide real communication and connection with your kids without putting them on the spot by asking them to “tell me about your day”! You’ll soon learn more about what they are feeling about themselves and their lives as single-parent children by not asking them directly.
Dads and politics really are intertwined and make for strange but healing bedfellows. My father recently went in for emergency cardiac bypass and valve replacement surgery on election day and it was a delicate decision as to when and how to tell him the outcome as he begins his recovery. As an immigrant he rarely missed the opportunity to vote and while I grew to vehemently disagree with his politics, I was always impressed with his commitment and participation. Thanks Cindy, for opening up this dialoge. I have even begun to use some of your history questions to bring my Dad back from his anesthesia dreams.
BTW he said he hopes President Obama will be up for the job ahead.
Hi David! Thanks for sharing!
Love to know how the kids you work with in your programs were involved in this election.
Did they have any personal experiences.
Keep Commenting!
Thanks!
I can see how SAHDs would want/need a convention. Men and women are direeffnt, and if they only SAHs that they talk to are mothers, they are likely to get a lot of advice that doesn’t suit their styles.Though I’d have liked to have had a SAHD in the play-groups when my son was little. Guys usually are bigger and stronger than women, and could have handle the roughousing of the boys better. Plus knowing a guy was there would have made me less nervous about some of the other denizens of the parks.
All dads should take their kids to see the movie “Lincoln” (those over 12). It actually makes the legislative process exciting and is a brilliant evocation of a tumultuous period in hour history. Daniel Day-Lewis is brilliant as Lincoln and the rest of the cast is equally good. It will get your kids interested in politics and history and eager to know more!
Stacy, you make me die laughing. You are funny!! Nathalie, these are relaly great pictures. Stacy your house is so lasting. I wish I could have this look. Also let me tell all who will see her great kitchen how many wonderful meals have been cooked in it. It’s not just for looks. Thanks Nathalie!