How do I educate my child on the left?
To be honest, it's one of my biggest nightmares: that my children could be politically right-wing. Gucci handbag collector, Freemason, FCB fan - if a lifelong membership of the Muttenzerkurve is the right way for them to distance themselves from me, why not? If, on the other hand, they were to espouse right-wing nationalist views one day - I would have a problem. Which brings us to the topic of this column: How do you bring up your child on the left? Developmental psychologists largely agree that the few things you as a parent can really influence are the child's first years. After that, it's too late.
This thesis is contradicted by the work of an American scientist who has dedicated his research life to the question of how strongly parents can influence their children politically. His observation: two thirds of all children hold the same political views as their parents later in life. This is consistent with my experience. Even if we initially completely reject the values and views of our parents, we have internalised them. You can take the child out of the commune, but you can't take the commune out of the child. So there is hope for left-wing indoctrination. But how do you go about it?
One of my biggest nightmares: that my children could be politically right-wing.
Here's how it works: being left-wing is not an option, it's a default setting. It regularly happens that my wife launches into long lectures on the connectivity of critical whiteness and difference feminism over dinner, while the rest of the family listlessly picks at the overcooked risotto. For a long time, I was sure that my daughter's first word would be «intersectionality». You have to be careful, of course. The American researcher pointed out that too much persuasion is counterproductive. Which is why, out of concern that the children will rebel against our values, I always prophylactically point out the advantages of low-volatility ETFs or intersperse the starting salary of junior consultants at PriceWaterhouse-Cooper into the dinner conversation.
The most important thing, of course, is to practise what you preach: before the vote on the mass immigration initiative, my wife stood in the middle of the city for two days in protest in the biting north wind. The children brought tea, even if the grown-up found it a little embarrassing. I, on the other hand, was thrown to the ground by heavily armed police officers at an anti-WEF demonstration and interrogated for hours - which, in my children's eyes, is an interesting antithesis to my high finance chatter.
Here's how it works: being left is not an option, it's a default setting.
Furthermore, my wife can't walk past a beggar without giving him money. And indeed, the children have an almost manic obsession with justice: every beggar has to get the same amount of money, the little one still mourns the bird that our cat ate weeks ago, and her 113 cuddly toys are meticulously allowed to take turns sleeping next to her at night. The American researcher, who wrote his doctoral thesis on political education, identified four factors that have a strong influence on political education: Marry someone with the same political views. Talk a lot about politics at home. Be supportive and understanding towards the child. Avoid overly vigorous lobbying. We fulfil three of them.