There is so much to be worried about with our children’s future. There is so much outside our control. Naturally we worry. We worry about wars. We worry about technological disruption (AI). We worry about the climate.

All parents worry. And yet do you know what far too many parents don’t do? They don’t vote! Something like a third of the eligible population does not vote. Not all of them are parents, but millions of them are.

How crazy is that? So much is outside of our control, there is so much we don’t get a say in, but you know what we do have control over, what we do have a complete say in? Our ballot!

This upcoming presidential election in America will likely be decided by a group of people that could all fit inside a college football stadium. In fact, the 2020 election was decided by about 44,000 ballots in three key states—44,000 people is less than half the capacity of the University of Alabama’s football stadium!

Why would you sit this out? Because the candidates aren’t perfect? Because you’re busy? There’s one way your vote doesn’t matter for sure—and that’s by not exercising it. This is your chance to influence the future, to determine in a small way, the world your children and grandchildren will live in.

Show them what participation looks like. Bring them to the polls with you. Fill out your absentee ballot with them. Talk to them about the candidates, what’s at stake. Explain to them how the system works. Participate in that system.

It matters.