Helping Kids Understand Elections: Tips for Parents

While national surveys show close to half of U.S. adults feel politics are a significant source of stress, it is easy to believe politics don’t impact children. However, nothing could be further from the truth. It is impossible to completely shield children from the political rhetoric occurring in media, print and among family members. Not only is it impossible, it also isn’t helpful when adults avoid engaging with children around political topics.

Adults need to help children understand what happens during an election in age-appropriate ways.

Studies show when children understand what is happening and why it happens, they learn voting matters and are more likely to vote and engage in community activities as adults. The key is to avoid telling children what they should think about issues and instead engage them in learning how to critically think and make decisions. No matter the child’s age, this will help them process the information they are encountering.

Preschool Age: Understanding Voting and Opinions

At this age, it is important for children to understand voting is having an opinion about who would be the best at a certain job and expressing that opinion.

One way to do this is by voting on decisions within the family—like where to eat out for supper. Each person tells why they believe their choice is the best choice, everyone votes, and the place with the most votes is where you go for supper.

This is also a great age to begin talking about how people can have different opinions and still talk to one another respectfully. Preschoolers learn though stories, so find books to read about topics like respectfully disagreeing or what it means to vote. Try doing an online search for “books to help kids understand elections” or ask your local librarian for age-appropriate materials.

Elementary Age: Understanding Intention, Behavior and Getting Involved

“What have you heard?”

At this age children begin asking questions about what they are hearing. When children bring up a current event, engage them with questions like “What have you heard?” This helps you determine what information they have picked up and how they have made sense of what they have heard. Equipped with this information, help them to differentiate between opinion and fact by teaching them how to determine what the facts are around different issues.

Point out what’s trustworthy.

Elementary age children are very black and white thinkers, so the language used in political rhetoric can be difficult for them. Language talking about assassination attempts, calling candidates liars, or accusing individuals of not being trustworthy can create fear for children. You can counter this by consistently pointing out examples of how most adults are trustworthy.

Discuss how people could communicate more respectfully.

It is helpful for kids to hear adults point out what they consider to be bad behavior of candidates or news media from a variety of political stances (not just the party you disagree with). When you hear candidate bashing, talk together about how they might have done this more respectfully.

Explain how attack ads are sensational but don’t give you the whole story.

You can assist children in looking at how attack ads grab attention but often only show part of what people need to know or choose to emphasize things that are not helpful to create fear to influence those encountering the ad.

Help your child get involved.

Taking your child with you to vote and helping them to understand what you are doing can impress upon them the importance of the voting process. Looking for ways they can be involved in something that matters to them within the community is another way of helping them to see their active participation in the process matters.

Model good citizenship.

Children this age frequently mimic what they see the adults around them doing, making it extremely important for them to see adults modeling respectful discourse and active participation in the political process.

Teenagers: Understanding Issues, Values and Determining Reliability

Teenagers are working to separate themselves from their parents and, as a result, are likely to take whatever opinion they believe their parents have and boldly stand in opposition. This need to form their own opinions makes it essential for adults to refrain from telling teens what they “ought” to think about issues and, instead, focus on helping teens look at how to sort the data, determine whether sources are reliable, and decide how to make an informed opinion or decision.

Teens benefit from understanding the sorts of questions adults ask themselves about:

  • Various issues
  • How to find trustworthy, fact-based resources
  • How to determine the values that inform their political decisions

Don’t be afraid to engage teens in healthy debate around issues and, when you do this, consider taking a position they wouldn’t expect you to as a way of helping them learn how to defend what they believe using facts rather than opinions. It is also important to help teens find places where they can be active in supporting issues they feel strongly about—even if they feel strongly about something you don’t.

How much is too much?

Engaging children of all ages in conversations to help them build an understanding of how to make informed decisions and understand how our government functions is important. Equally important is monitoring how much information children are absorbing and how this is impacting them emotionally.

Children (and adults!) can become anxious when exposed to too much of the “doomsday” messaging currently dominating political ads. Limiting exposure, helping children understand what the facts are, and making sure your conversations and reactions don’t create fear are ways to help children manage the anxiety this negative messaging can create.

Children of all ages need to be reminded that, while people feel passionately about issues and candidates, this doesn’t mean things won’t be okay if a particular candidate does or doesn’t win. Hearing this message from parents and other trusted adults helps children to lay their fears aside to be able to engage in their daily activities.

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