How to Raise a Politically Active Teen

Your Political Adversary?

It's tough to make the distinction between exposing your teen to issues and forcing your opinion onto them. If your child is like the average teen, then you know that she doesn't like to be told what to do. That's because by now your kid has a mind of her own. "They're young adults," says Faull. "They're going to vote independently and not particularly for the same person as their parents."

Faull says sometimes teenagers will have an opposite opinion just for the sake of being controversial and to challenge their parents' thinking. This is not to say that you shouldn't share your views with them -- that's inevitable. But when you do, make sure your teen knows that she has a choice. You want her to develop a mind of her own and not just piggyback off your own ideas.

Also, you should not be worried that your teen might be making a poor decision just because it's the opposite of your own. Faull says that by the time people reach their late 20's, they tend to identify more strongly with their parents' political ideology.