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Are kids too young to talk politcs?

Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, In The News

Rachel Campos-Duffy

My husband and I are passionate about politics. Sean is the Republican Chairman of our congressional district and I blog for this site's 'Red Mom/Blue Mom" election feature column. Over the past couple months, politics have dominated our conversations at home and we've watched more cable news than I care to admit. We even attended a rally in central Wisconsin with our kids where Sean addressed 5,000 fellow Republicans before John McCain spoke.

Our airwaves and communities are saturated with the upcoming election so it shouldn't have been entirely surprising when our kids (all in elementary school) began telling us about political conversations that were happening with their friends at school. Who knew that 1st and 3rd graders discuss such things over lunchtime PB&J? Mostly, though, we were more than a little nervous about exactly what our kids might be saying. When I learned that other parents were also dealing with the same thing, it sparked some interesting debates about the kinds of political conversations kids should be having (or overhearing!) at home.

In general, I have no problem talking about politics or current events with my children. If they have a question (and lately, they've had many) I try my best to answer in an age appropriate manner that respects their intelligence. I'm always amazed by their astute questions and ability to understand so much more than I expected. That's why we are also very careful to explain that both candidates want what is best for America. And while the election and their questions have provided an opportunity to convey our families' values (conservative and pro-life - and yes, they know what pro-life means), we make it clear that both the candidates and those who vote for them are good people who happen to have different ideas and opinions. After all we have plenty of relatives voting for the other side, and they know that.

The elections have also given us an opportunity to explain some civic etiquette. Our preschooler asked an adult family friend for whom she was voting and she was rightly uncomfortable with the inquiry. Later that evening, we sat the kids down and explained why that is impolite. Since they have voted with us in the past, we explained that the "curtain" was actually an important part of the process and that unless someone offers to tell you, their vote is private. A few days later I learned that a fellow classmates asked our son who we voting for and our little Jack replied, "I can't tell you who my mom is voting for because that's private, but I want to vote for John McCain."

In my daughter's third grade class, some kids took to putting Obama stickers on their desk, which prompted my daughter to ask me for two McCain-Palin stickers for her and the only other McCain supporters in her grade. I obliged.

And lest you think there's a shortage of political diversity in our home, our feisty four year-old, Lucia, is keepin' it real and living up to her third child independent spirit. For several weeks she said, "I'm voting for the girl!". But now, as the race winds down and Independents like her are making up their minds for good, she's made it very clear to us that she "wants A-Rock-A-Bama!".

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