I think we talked about this once before when a bunch of parents took their kids out to a Phoenix protest with a police presence. It was a dangerous situation, and I was really disappointed in those parents.
Yours question reads a little differently. You said "using." Using how? As fodder? As human shields?
I believe every parent should teach their children civic responsibility. When Target was in the public eye for kicking out a breastfeeding mother, moms everywhere did nursing sit-ins. I was all for that. It was a peaceful and safe demonstration. There have been marches here for women, gay rights, religion, and other things. I know parents who have taken their kids to those- one father I know took his young daughters to the women's march. I thought it was a beautiful and empowering gesture. It was a safe environment and an experience that will stick with those girls for life.
But, not all protests and demonstrations are safe environments. If something is very politically-charged or could be risky for the child, parents should keep their kids out of it.
The most recent one shown on the local news spurned me to post this question. Schoolteachers were at a school board meeting protesting issues surrounding their salaries. Many parents were there, and some children were also. The ones that made the evening news appeared to be of the age of Kindergartners, first and second graders, they were shown with microphones shoved in their faces to give their "perspectives" on the situation. It wasn't played up for comic effect, either; the "reporters" were seeking intellectually-inspired comments from these cherubs. ~
I can understand parents lobbying for teachers to have better salaries, and, to a certain extent, I could understand bringing a child along if no other caregiver is available... Eh... Even that doesn't sit well with me. It's almost like a divorced/ divorcing couple sitting their kid in the room while they discuss child support. The child really shouldn't be involved in those things. I would think that a small child would see him/ herself as a burden on the teacher- kids that age really can't split out the political aspect of it.
Is that along the lines of what you were thinking or were you somewhere else with it?
A five-year-old doesn't know anything about salary tables, tenure, human resource-related topics, retirement eligibility, annuities, tax deferral regulations, etc. What I saw in the news was one child after another repeated the rehearsed lines that had been fed to them by adults.
Just Asking 