Election Day can have family focus
As parents, we want to teach our children the ways of the world and introduce them to the levers of democracy. With Election Day on Tuesday, the timing is ideal.
There is no specific federal law that prohibits children from accompanying their parents or guardians into the voting booth, but restrictions regarding maximum ages and the number of children that can be in the voting booth can vary by jurisdiction. Many states and localities recognize the importance of involving children in the democratic process and may have provisions, like designated play areas, that allow children to accompany their parents or guardians while they vote.
Prepare your child for the importance of this day. Obviously, it will depend on their comprehension level, but it is important to give them context about how voting is part of a unifying democratic process that millions of people around the country are doing.
Sharing the importance of this day can have a long-lasting impact on your child. A recent study published by the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy, a nonprofit that promotes civic education and civil discourse, showed evidence of a trickle-down relationship in civic engagement, saying that most teenagers who voted in their first eligible presidential election had a mother who also voted. Not only is this an opportunity to make our voices heard, but also an opportunity to teach our children, who will be the next generation of leaders, how important it is for them to raise their voices and contribute to their civic duty and responsibility.
Rebecca L. Palmer Orlando
Rebecca Palmer is a family and marital law attorney practicing in Orlando.
Take a look at Frost’s antisemitism vote
Thanks to the Sentinel for including a photograph of Rep. Maxwell Frost with the article “U.S. Rep. Frost votes against resolution condemning antisemitism on campuses” (Nov. 4).
It brought to my mind another photograph of Frost speaking into a megaphone in front of a prominent banner bearing the words “Defund the Police!”
It is truly a public service to remind people through words and images what their elected representatives are all about.
Scott Campbell Winter Park
Humans are causing climate change
A Nov. 2 letter to the editor asked the question, “Global warming? Who knows?” I would like to tell the letter-writer who knows. This from the nonpartisan Environmental Defense Fund — “Tens of thousands of scientists in more than 100 nations have amassed an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to a clear conclusion: Humans are the main cause of climate change.”
We’re the ones who burn fossil fuels, produce livestock and clear trees, increasing the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. And you know who else knows? The insurance companies — which are canceling policies and leaving the state.
James Para Lake Wales
