Should my child skip school for the climate strike? 2 parents weigh in

As thousands are expected to attend climate strikes in Canada today, parent Chad Miller admits he is not completely on board with kids taking part in the demonstrations.

Miller, whose daughter is 15, says youth should not have to worry about issues like climate change at a young age. 

"They shouldn't have to be putting the pressures of the world or put on pedestals, regardless of climate change or any other political tool," he said in an interview with Cross Country Checkup. 

"To use children here, I do not see that as a great way to get the message across." 

• How important is climate change to your vote?

Students around the world took to the streets last Friday ahead of a UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. Thousands more are expected to strike again today in global protests, including in cities across Canada. 

The movement was inspired by the Fridays For Future school strikes, a series of demonstrations started by 16-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg last August.

Every Friday, she skipped school to protest outside of the Swedish parliament in a bid to raise awareness about climate change and pressure politicians to act on the issue. Thunberg's comments went viral after she posted on social media about her activism, and she has taken her mission worldwide.

Miller, who is an oil and gas consultant in Sylvan Lake, Alta., says he doesn't dispute climate change or take issue with those who join the strikes. He adds that he also wouldn't stop his daughter from joining other students in the climate strike, as it is important for her to make her own decisions. 

However, he says he would ask her why she's taking part.

"Everybody wants to be part of something whether or not that they truly believe in it or understand it. They want to be part of something collectively," he said. 

"I'd have a conversation with her after and ask what she learned from it because it's an experience."

Matt Price, however, disagrees that children are too young to understand climate change.

Price, who is the co-ordinator of the group For Our Kids, a network of parents of grandparents raising awareness about climate change, says criticizing students for skipping school to attend a climate strike is "rather weak."

"It's not like they're not learning. They're being active citizens, which I think is what education is for in the first place."

Price adds that he had no problem letting his son Oliver, 13, skip school to take part in the global climate strike in Duncan, B.C., last Friday. The student even helped organize the event. 

"I was super proud of them, and they had a great turnout," Price said. "They had 500 people. For a small town, it's pretty nice." 

According to Christine Korol, a Vancouver-based psychologist and director of the Vancouver Anxiety Centre, it's good for kids "to be politically engaged and have a say about their future." 

Korol, who specializes in treating anxiety disorders, says she is often asked by young people and parents about how to cope with eco-anxiety and the changing climate.

She says criticizing young activists for speaking up on the issue is "quite invalidating," adding that children at a young age can already understand what climate change is, despite what adults may think. 

"I think we have to give kids the benefit of the doubt that they can be informed and make good decisions on their own," she told Checkup.

"I think that we need to all learn how to have more reasoned discourse with each other and learn how to listen to everybody's opinions without invalidating somebody because of their age or their experience." 

However, Korol warns that parents who let their children take part in the strikes should set boundaries about how to be engaged appropriately so that they avoid breaking the law, for example by destroying property.

As for Price, he says he's still educating Oliver about the effects of climate change while letting him enjoy his childhood as long as he can. Still, he's happy that his son was able to gain real-world experience by helping organize last week's demonstration.

"I think a lot of the kids who are actually taking action are learning more in many ways than they would just doing the classroom stuff," Price said.

"They're learning about the issues, they are learning how to work together, they're learning how to logistically put things on."