Can children - and I mean 10, 12 year olds - work campaign phones?

[Solly Mack]

[Sydnie]

1. I did it at 14 - don't know if anyone younger than that has before. n/t

[Solly Mack]

5. OK. Thanks!!!

[truedelphi]

10. I think I was about that age.

And if you are ruled too young to be on the phone there are other things young volunteers can do.

[last1standing]

2. It sounds like an incredibly bad idea to me.

Even if the law allows it, they would be subjected to angry respondents and those who would try to hurt their feelings.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. And people who would take advantage of them. I agree I wouldn't put

my kids who are that age on the phone. (Heck, they won't even _answer_ the phone around here!)

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Hmmmm They would be volunteers. Not sure if Child Labor laws apply, but

there may be some set of rules stating they may not or may and only for X amt of time.

[Solly Mack]

12. I did mean as volunteers. Sorry about that. Thanks!!!

[supernova]

4. As long as you don't work them too long at a stretch

and they can read the script properly. Sure.

[Winterblues]

6. I think as volunteers they can, as long as there is no pay involved

I know during Reagan's term he got a law passed that said teen-agers could work for less than minimum wage to give them an in to the wonderful world of employment..but I don't think that extends down to 10-12 year olds..

[Fleshdancer]

8. I guess it depends on the campaign, but I wasn't allowed to at that age.

Then again, I still had that very child-like chipmunk voice at 12 still.

[demmiblue]

9. I have no idea, but ...

I know that there are students under the age of 18 participating in the process by volunteering for candidates. Sometimes it is a school requirement (candidate of their choice). But, no, I have never heard of this at that age.

[Solly Mack]

11. Thank you everyone!!!

[RevolutionStartsNow]

They can work, but phones might not be best. My daughter...

worked her heart out in Iowa for Howard Dean when she was 12, but we didn't put her on the phone. She did tons of data entry, and did lit drops with us (in the snow, it was hard work). She LOVED the work.

My son also now works on election day with me. During the 2006 midterms he was 10, and we did some visibility as well as driving to precincts and checking voter lists. He enjoyed that quite a bit.

Anything you can do to get them helping is great, but I'm not sure phones are best. I know that neither of my kids have very good telephone presence (ha), and shouldn't be expected to be able to answer questions about policy, etc. Also I wouldn't want to subject them to possible rude treatment.

Edited to say that my 16 year old is working on the Obama campaign, and she recently took over the local phone bank office. She went it and organized those volunteers like she'd been doing it all her life. They called over 1000 people in Nevada before lunchtime! So kids can be a great help on a campaign.

[woodsprite]

13. My 15 yo daughter and I have been doing phonebanking together.

I think it would depend on their maturity level and their grasp of the topics. At 12, I think my daughter would have been able to handle it, at 18 my brother wouldn't have been.

[midnight]

14. My one year old granddaughter is barely speaking, but carries

around an out of use cell phone, and says hello. I think that she will be ready to man the campaing phones by then. Why do you ask?

[Solly Mack]

16. Curious more than anything

I worked for Carter's campaign when I was 12...not on the phones, mind you...but with other things... and I wondered if kids could also volunteer on the phones.

[Benhurst]

15. I don't know. But we allow children to pick fruit and vegetables

for agibusiness and only the bleeding heart liberals seem to object.

:shrug:

[dawgmom]

17. Bad idea -- but there are things they can do

My first campaign at age 13 was Robert Kennedy's run for the Democratic nomination. (And my first experience with heartbreak.) I didn't work phones, and think that would be a very bad idea because of the potential for abuse being heaped on them by a caller. Plus, if I were called by a 10 or 12 year old, it would carry very little weight with me. However, at 13 I did lots of office work. I made signs, I made copies, I stuffed envelopes, I made coffee for the volunteers, and did a lot of "gopher" work like that. It's important work that needs to be done.

[serrano2008]

18. Please people - let your 10 and 12 year olds stay home and watch TV and play video games

Come on, don't drag them into it. It's cute when your kid says "Vote Obama" or for them to wear an Obama shirt but don't get them that involved, it's too mean spirited for their developing minds. Maybe 16-18 year olds but younger than that just isn't/shouldn't be ready to deal with it.

Also, if I GOT a call from a 10-12 or even 14 year old at home about politics, I would be truly disturbed.