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How do I handle my 19 yr old son turning democrat? We are conservative Republicans, and he was raised around all other republicans. I'm really ticked off about it. He's not on his own yet completely, as we still pay alot of his bills while he is looking for work for the last 6 months. He does have his own place, but we help with that too. I'm sure that the college crowd he's hangin out with are liberals. How should I handle this?

How about accepting him and loving him for the person he is, comprised of a heart and soul, endeavoring to find his way in life?

There is an old saying.. If you are young and conservative you have no heart, If you are old an liberal you have no brain.

He's trying on a new coat. It doesn't mean it will be in style forever.

Have you discussed the issues and why he believes the Democrat view is the correct one? Instead of trying to psychoanalyze why he would change, you need to really listen to his reasons for becoming a Democrat.

That you support him financially really has nothing to do with his beliefs. He has every right to accept the liberal point of view, just as you have that right not to accept it.

It could be very helpful and informative for both of you, if you can share your views in a respectful way. If, after a useful discussion, you find that you both just disagree--then all you can do is agree to disagree.

Linda, I think that is excellent, reasonable advice.

Hand him all the material you can find about the democratic view.

Support him, through knowledge. Give him both sides of the democratic view, but also a book that provides the unspokens -the other side basically with cold hard facts, not opinion.

My husband and I went around and around about this. He would get so peeved at me when I would point out how the wealthy did this or that. Their actions stuck with me, because I saw it first hand in the brokerage firm, the acceptions, the discounts, grey areas, etc. special favors.

Anyway, we had a huge fight and after about a month, we addressed our issues again.

I didn't like the way the wealthy did things, but i didn't like how people "worked" the system and offered very little being productive wise being on welfare.

So, he asked me to read a book, "Argueing with Idiots." The title erked me, but...big BUT, I found most of what was in the news in regards to what the democrats were touting sticking up for the underdog, immigrations, welfare, etc and the green movement had another side, an important side that was as important as learning all of the colors of a stop light, not just the green.

Not only did this book provide the other side, but facts I could physically go look up on-line or books that I could see for myself in the library.

Initially you get resistance because the movement out there currently is "that's hate speech" don't even bother listening or reading another view. It's simply a deterant. There was no hate and I read the book. There was though a lot of information, real information, some of it shockingly so.

I am now independant.

Thanks, this all helps. I guess I need to step back and not be so angry about it. Thanks everybody!

Right on the mark.

Hi: that's hard when you feel like your child has turned into an alien!

I find a lot of teenagers and college students define themselves as "Democrat" because they are surrounded by liberals in education. They don't hear both sides of the argument. They just hear how "bad" capitalism is and how "greedy" capitalists are and how only the liberals really care about anybody.

To be honest, the most generous people I know (those who give the highest percentage of their incomes to charity) are REPUBLICANS. Even when I was a grad student and had little money, I gave every year to charity. My liberal friends don't give anything to charity--they think that's what they pay taxes for.

I would encourage you to ask your son why he is thinking the way he's thinking and continue to be a great example as parents/Republicans. You can also talk to him about how you and your husband worked hard to have what you have and to be able to share it with him. A discussion about morals is always appropriate with teenagers/young adults. At some point, maybe not soon, it will click with him that, Hey, my parents are GREAT people who are also Republican....

My Republican parents were dismayed when I was in my late teens/early 20's and became a Democrat. I think it is just the age. You hear a lot of garbage in college and you have this idealistic view. Once I got married and had children, my viewpoint drastically changed. Give your son time...when he begins to take care of himself and has a family, he will likely see the error of his ways. :-)