We are a house divided. I will decline to say which person of legal voting age falls on which side of the ballot, but just know that we pretty much always cancel out each others votes in this house. Regardless, we agree on the fact that we want out children to learn the issues and be educated enough to form their own, well informed opinions. And apparently, our 3 year old already has....
Let's go back in time about 2 months or so to the first presidential debate. Much like we were getting ready to sit down and watch a major sporting event, we made our dinner, grabbed the kiddos, and clicked on the boob tube. For the majority of the 20 minutes we were able to hold our pre-schooler's attention, her eyes kinda glazed over with boredom as we made our somewhat lame attempts to explain (in a bi-partisan manner) what these two well-dressed men were babbling about. Alright, maybe we got ahead of ourselves with this civics lesson....maybe she needs to break the 30 pound milestone before she begins thinking deeply about foreign affairs and fiscal cliffs. But then, like a miracle, a chord was struck in our little girls heart that she has not stopped talking about.....
She stopped, walked closer to the TV and listened intently with her head cocked to one side like a puppy.
After a few minutes, she turned to us and said...."Hey, why is that man going to get rid of Big Bird?" There was a legitimate anger in her voice...well, as angry as an undersized 3 year old girl can sound anyway.
Enter the well-intentioned, bumbling, parents here....we did our best to explain the reference, but her mind was made up. She was voting for Obama (much to one of her parents happiness....though I decline to say which one....) based solely on her television viewing preferences. But, she had thought it through and "voted" on the issues and policy that affected her.
Goal accomplished....democratic process taught....kinda. Chapter one anyway!
Ever since that night, she refers to the President as "The Guy Who Won't Get Rid of Big Bird." And I do mean EVERY time she sees him on the news....
In the eyes of my dear little R, that is how President Obama will go down in the history books. I can almost see her AP American History essays now.....so proud!
Happy Friday Ya'll!!
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Kids have a great way of simplifying things. "That guy says he'll keep the things I like, the other guy says he'll get rid of the things I like." We adults pretty much vote the same way.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell which political party my five year old favors. After we attempted to explain the differences between the two main parties, he told us that when he grows up he's going to marry a boy and have 3000 guns. Independent? Libertarian?