The Top 5 Things Kids Learn From Presidential Politics

October 14th, 2008 Posted in 2008 Presidential Election, General Parenting

Right now you can’t go into first grade and not be bombarded with political banter. From security to education, the wheels of democracy are in full motion through November. Our kids are listening too, but what are they taking away from the process? Well, you’d better be prepared to have a chat with your little ankle-biter about what they can lean (or not learn) about how the world of high-stakes presidential politics.

I asked the people on Yahoo! Answers what they thought the top five lessons were and combined it with mine. Now let’s look at the top five things kids learn from presidential politics…

Lesson #1: Sticks and Stones…

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” While it may be true physically, it can cripple a campaign. This does show that when you’re an adult, people do say some very hurtful things that are not necessarily true. Children need to understand this cruel rule of life and be prepared to react appropriately.

Lesson #2: Winners Never Cheat and Cheaters Never Win… Sometimes

Here’s one that goes against all the good sportsmanship lessons we try to instill in our kids. In the real world, outside the playground, the person who wins is the person who wins. Unfortunately the rules, truth and sportsmanship goes out the window when there’s a big prize on the line. Typically the best person does win a political contest, but that does not mean that a few punches won’t be thrown below the belt.

Lesson #3: Do Your Homework

If there’s one great lesson to learn from politics it’s that you need to do your homework. Just watch any debate and the candidates know their stuff… and the other candidate’s stuff too. Take the Palin/Biden debate, there was a lot of information thrown around very quickly. Regardless of which side of the isle you sit, you had better do your homework and be prepared for that “book report.”

Lesson #4: Your Past Can Become Your Future

To paraphrase an old saying, live every moment like someone is watching. Remember that candy bar you stole with your buddies in school? You can bet someone does. And if you’re running for office the campaign ad would likely read, “________ candidate has been stealing candy from babies for 30 years!” If our kids learn to act the same way when they’re not being watched as they do when mom is over their shoulder, I think we’d have a better batch of politicians in a few years.

Lesson #5: Unlike Math, There’s More Than One Answer to A Problem

Depending on the subject, there’s a lot of right/wrong answers in school. Fast forward to real life, you’re hard pressed to find anything that is pure black or white. This gray area is where we all live and presidential politics definitely do a good job of putting two correct answers against each other. What do the kids learn? Be creative when you problem solve.