My son was doing a lot of research around the effects of climate change and the question of responsibility and it got me thinking about the parent vs politicians question. My interest was also sparked by the local elections recently and the question of, ‘Do I know if the politician I am voting for is active with policy and plans for climate change?’ I’m ashamed to say the answer is ‘I don’t know’.
We’ve often had situations with our parenting work when the parents deem the training and education of their children to be the sole responsibility of the school; and equally plenty of discussions with schools where they lament about the poor parenting responsibility and input with children about matters not typically included in the school curriculum. So when it comes to something like climate change - whose responsibility is it to ensure that our future generations know the extent of this problem and what to do about it?
Our generation Z (those aged 10 - 25) are our most tech savvy, hungry for knowledge segment of the population. They consume copious amounts of social media and online information and are as a collective, a very environmentally conscious group. Yet, in the survey my son took, only 10% of those surveyed in this age group, knew that there was something known as pressure groups that advocate for those who are able to vote, to vote for politicians who are active and engaged with changing legislation around climate change. I found this statistic shocking. It goes to show that the sensationalism and ‘quick flick’ behaviour of apps and online forums, is not getting the message across to this captive audience, that they have power with their votes to make real changes to policies that will actually really effect change.
So, does this then fall to the parents to bridge this gap? Do the parents themselves know? Although many parents do vote, the survey also found that most do not look at the actual policies a politician supports before voting for him/her. They don’t do a ‘deep dive’ to really know who they are voting for and what that politician will actively be promoting. Really interesting to consider. Particularly, when you think about how long it sometimes takes me (and others!) to choose the perfect avocado from the options available. Why have I not spent any time at all really investigating who I vote for?
I will say this, it’s started some very interesting conversations around our dinner table - and my hope is, that this blog today, will start some around yours.
