MUMSAYS.(Letters)

Byline: Abbie Wightwick

The closure of the younger children's primary school for voting last week has sparked an interest in politics.

Steve Dube It seems there's a shortage of suitable public buildings for polling stations so someone hit on the idea of using schools.

in Carmarthen This is a great way of creating sympathy for politicians among children. Anything that shuts school just two days after term began again must be a good thing, they reason.

As a voter there's something a little odd about going into a room full of paintings your children have done while a man in spectacles hands you a voting slip.

Of course the children insist on accompanying me, fascinated by their school being invaded by adults for the day.

We're hardly through the door before the eight-year-old announces: "I need a wee." He really just wants a scout around the empty building and is disappointed to find the loos are blocked off to the electorate.

"Well, it's a polling station not a public convenience," I point out.

Inside the polling room they ask loudly which boxes I'm ticking and why.

"It's secret," I whisper. "I'll tell you outside."

"Why is it secret? Who are those people?" the 11-year-old whispers, eyeing the polling staff suspiciously.

On the way out they are delighted to see teachers in the staff room.

This mysterious change in a familiar environment makes them wonder who owns the school.

I do a quick crash course in local and national government, what the Assembly pays for and why "other people" can take charge of their school for the day.

It's all going very smoothly until the older daughter comes home from her school, sadly not closed for polling, and wants to know what the AV system is.

I find myself as stumped as anyone else as I attempt to explain how votes are counted. All three children stare at me blankly. Eventually I give up.

"Go and look it up on Google," I say.

"You say we shouldn't believe everything we read on the internet," the youngest reminds me.

They decide to ring granny and ask if she can explain.

When all available adults explain neither voting system is foolproof they get a better idea of the strange world of politics.

Things get even more complex when their father arrives home full of excitement. Coming from Scotland he tells us we'll all need passports to visit the homeland in future as the SNP have scooped the vote.

"The BNP?" shrieks the 11-year-old. I leave it up to him to explain the intricacies and differences between the two parties and why the grandparents might vote SNP but never BNP.