Don’t Expose Kids to Inappropriate Things; That Includes Politics

Children are exposed to endless amounts of information in today’s world. As parents, it’s our responsibility to shield our kids from inappropriate material or too-adult of discussions until they’re ready for it. The parents’ job is to censor the information their kids receive in an age-appropriate manner. That is why you don’t give your eight-year-old son a smart phone where he can accidentally or purposely find all kinds of x-rated material and you don’t allow your nine-year-old daughter to watch – and then be enticed to imitate – so-called dirty-dancing and twerking. Since kids are sponges who hear, see, and then repeat  all they absorb, parents need to keep these sponges dry as long as possible.

While parents can’t control what their children hear from peers at school, they can make sure their kids aren’t enrolled in an atheistic, woke-embracing school (i.e., most public school districts) but are at either a solid Christian school or homeschooled. This will lessen the chance of the youngsters being indoctrinated with the culture’s debauchery.  Parents also can control how much media their children take in – be it social media online or corporate media on the TV and radio. This includes not having the news or political talk shows playing on the television set when their young kids are in the room or on the radio when their kids are in the car.

Eventually, all boys and girls should learn about how the political system works, about voting and elections, and about government officials, agencies, and overreach. But this should not begin any earlier than when kids are in middle school. Exposing children to the country’s politics at young ages sets them up for early-onset anxiety, worrying about things out of their control.

It does no good for a first grader to watch Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate, and take in all that comes with it – scare-mongering, name-calling, and saber-rattling. Save that exposure for when the kid is older, taking school courses on U.S. government, and ready to vote in his/her high school student council election.

If parents want to start early to prepare their sons and daughters to be good citizens, this can be done by reinforcing the following of traffic laws and not littering when they are primary grade students. As they mature through grades 2-5, discussions can ensue about what the town council and mayor’s jobs are, and then the governor’s and president’s responsibilities, without bringing up specific politicians’ positive or negative attributes. What should not be done is have their kids start learning about the larger world of politics and politicians before grade 6.  At this point, parents can discuss how citizens are part of the political process, can explain to their preteens about the upcoming elections, and keep even bring them into the voting booth and see mom or dad vote in real time.

When kids start learning about policy-making and government, we want the focus to be on the issues and not the ugliness of politics. Parents can do this by conversing about their family’s values and the Church’s principles, and where the opposing sides on the ballot stand on these topics.  This can be done by not resorting to hyperbolic name-calling: i.e., “That candidate is Hitler” and “Their side just wants to kill you.”  Of course, that name-calling will largely take place on the internet and TV, so parents need to be gatekeepers and make sure that doesn’t enter their households or come across their kids’ screens.

Moms and dads have the responsibility of raising their youngsters into informed, confident young adults who will contribute positively to society. This means kids will eventually need to be exposed to local and national news events and will need to form their opinions on issues that will come up when they start voting for governor, president, and the local initiative. But starting this exposure a few years prior to them turning 18 and receiving their first official ballot – and not starting a whole decade prior – is common sense.

In my years as a school principal, I recall an incident on our school playground years ago when two third grade boys got into it and were sent to my office for screaming at each other. These 8-year-olds weren’t arguing about if Superman could defeat Batman or if the Seahawks were better than the Dolphins. They were arguing over the then upcoming election, with one boy wanting Obama and one wanting Romney, and how if the other side won these boys couldn’t be friends anymore. Whereas the parents of these students probably never directly told their sons this specific “consequence” if their favored candidate lost, it could have been implied in family discussions at home or – like a sponge – soaked up unknowingly by allowing their boys to hear or see news reports and political talk shows.

Children younger than age 11 or 12  should not get worried about the implications of certain candidates getting elected president and don’t need to know who is running for governor. We want our children to mature, but at God’s time. We should not push them to mature before they’re naturally ready by exposing them too early to the vitriol in political debate and the gloom-and-doom in political news. Allow kids to remain kids for as long as possible.