Mommy and daddy can only teach and choose so much, the political views that you hold should not be one of them.

Parents are responsible for teaching kids the essentials, from hygiene to self-care, but nothing should feel forced on them.

When it comes to politics, individuals should be forming their perspectives. Political viewpoints should not be one of the many things parents are passing along.

Across the nation, different people have various backgrounds as well as perspectives. Multiple factors tie into the way kids view the world, and as a child, the environment that surrounds you will influence that perspective.

It is important that parents teach you how to be a good person, but ethics won’t always revolve around their political agenda. Don’t form your political stance based on the stance that your mother, father or guardian has chosen to take on an issue.

Some grow into realizing that the ideals they held to be true were only because that is all they have known their whole lives. Don’t disrespect your parents. Instead, learn ethics and values from them, but just as you would analyze any idea before accepting it, analyze what they have to say.

A Gallup Poll found that 21 percent of teens in the U.S. say they are “more liberal” than their parents, seven percent say they are “more conservative,” and 71 percent of teens say their social and political ideology is about the same as parents.

Typically if the family is Republican, children also identify as Republican and vice versa, if the family is Democratic, the children then identify as Democratic.

It is in college, or when students move away when they might start questioning if the views they hold are genuinely theirs, or if they are their parents’ views. Students leave their shelter, and either stay firm to these views or stray away.

Research conducted on how much parents influence political views, in the long run, has proven to be high in the past, but today, it is not that exact. Some statistics will support the claim, while others will dismiss it completely saying things are changing.

A study by the American Sociological Association found that most kids didn’t just absorb their parents’ politics, more than half rejected parents’ politics or wrongly identified their parents’ politics.

Parents aren’t the only factor in a child’s political decision, but the environment they’re in during the first years is crucial. There is a reason why numbers look different across the board.

With statistics that are so back and forth, the political influence a parent has on a child’s political socialization is one that should be more widely considered.

It is essential to consider different ideologies in any political party that you are considering aligning with. Take the various factors that might be influencing your decision and make sure the beliefs you hold are solely your own.