Election years provide many "teachable moments" for children. In 2006 my three-year-old loved coming with me to deliver yard signs. We talked about how some people like to tell everyone in the neighborhood who they are voting for, while other people like to keep that a secret. For weeks he would comment on yard signs as we drove around town. "Mommy, that person is also voting for Chet Culver!"
In 2008 both of our kids experienced the unbearable stuffiness of our precinct caucus, and while they didn't know the campaign issues, they did understand that people standing in different corners were supporting different candidates. They also understood the goal of getting as many people as possible to stand in your group. Many of my neighbors also brought children to the caucus, and I vividly remember one family whose seven-year-old daughter wore a Hillary button and nine-year-old son wore an Obama sticker even as their mom and dad caucused for Biden and Dodd (then Edwards after realignment).
During the 2008 general election campaign, my five-year-old son got a real-world dose of pluralism when he asked his favorite baby-sitter who she was voting for, and she answered McCain. I still laugh when I remember his follow-up question: "But who are you voting for for president?" It didn't take him long to understand that yes, Mommy and Daddy were still voting for Barack Obama, but his baby-sitter was voting for John McCain.
I've decided to start a diary series about the political lessons my kids learn during this year's campaign.
My first big teaching opportunity of the 2010 election happened a few weeks ago, as I was watching the replay of the second Republican gubernatorial debate on Iowa Public Television. My kids wanted to know who these people were, so I explained they were trying to be elected governor. My older son, now seven, asked who we were supporting. I said we will vote for Chet Culver again, but these three men are competing against each other first, and whoever wins is the person who will run against Culver in the fall. My son seemed to grasp this concept fairly easily.
Younger brother, now four and a half, had more questions. He wanted to know who was going to win the election. I tried to explain that we don't know who's going to win yet. It's either going to be Chet Culver, or it's going to be one of these three men on tv. What if they don't win, he wanted to know. Then Culver will win, I said. What if they don't win and Chet Culver doesn't win, he wanted to know. That's not going to happen--either Culver will win, or one of these guys will win. But what if these guys don't win AND Chet Culver doesn't win? That won't happen, honey. Either Culver will get to keep being governor for another four years, or one of these guys will win.
Now my four-year-old was getting annoyed. Probably he was wondering why Mommy didn't understand his simple question. But what if these guys do not win AND Chet Culver does not win? After the third or fourth time around this merry-go-round, I realized this wasn't worth arguing about, so I told him I didn't know what would happen.
Conclusion: my son is either a future out-of-the-box thinker and third-party agitator, or he's a bit too young to understand how elections work.
This thread is for sharing your own political memories or lessons you've taught children or students.