Making the Election Real to Kids

This presidential election is historic for a number of reasons, but the most unfortunate reason is that the two primary candidates have the highest unfavorable ratings in history.

There has been more mudslinging in this election than any other — and little discussion of policy, although the third debate Wednesday night went a long way toward improving that. Social media is responsible for the most widely dispersed amount of disinformation in history.

How are we supposed to explain this to our young children in a way that they’ll understand?

Parents can do many things and exercise strong leadership and judgment here. The first thing to remember is to keep it simple. Kids by nature see the simplest and most concise way of understanding things, so turning into a policy wonk will be counterproductive. It also is important to present things in the form of questions. That allows children to reach their own conclusions.

The real goal here is not to get them to side with a given candidate (unless they’re older, of course, and mature enough to examine and think through the issues). The goal is to create a forum where real choices are presented, choices that reflect conservative and Democratic values, and watch the kids puzzle it out. Fortunately — reason often results in conservative conclusions.

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You might begin by saying that the president is responsible for directing the country, like the captain of a ship. Ask your child the type of person they think would be best for the job. You won’t be surprised by their replies, as they are likely going to focus on their ability to do the job. Do they know how to sail? About maps? About currents? About how to manage the crew?

You don’t have to use a ship captain. You can use any analogy that suits your child — team coach, Jedi knight, superhero, whatever.

Focusing on skill is a good start. It gets them focused on who is best for the job. Explain that there are governors, which means they’ve captained smaller ships. Some candidates were senators or congressmen, which is like being a navigator or engine room operator.  This year, however, is different.

You can then move to discussing who might be best for the job if the only two choices are someone who hasn’t been the captain of a big ship before, but has done similar things, like piloted a small plane with good success — the analogy being Donald Trump.

Related: How to Parent the ‘Text’ Generation

Then you can pivot to Hillary Clinton’s analogy — someone who was first mate to a captain, but steered the ship into a storm. It crashed, people were killed, she lied about her responsibility, and she destroyed evidence when the maritime court looked into the crash.

There’s no misdirect here. It’s an honest assessment. One person has no experience — the other has had bad experiences. You can even boil it down to that statement alone, as it will likely engender a very enlightening discussion. Your child may come up with angles you hadn’t even considered.

Then come the ideological questions. Nobody is really sure what the inexperienced captain stands for. The other captain wants to take choices and rights away from people, and wants to control the entire ship. Which would the child choose?

We would like to have someone with good values, who cares about leaving people alone and letting them have their freedom, and who tries to do the right thing.

Then come the tough questions involving character. Nobody is perfect, and that’s something kids already know. Ask if they think that people in positions of responsibility should be extra careful about obeying rules and laws so they truly are upstanding citizens, or they ignore rules and laws.

Then offer another choice: Let’s say the captain with no experience has said some very ugly things in the past. He’s really not a very nice person, but he seems to care about the country, and will not let other countries bully him. The other captain seems nice, but is faking it, and takes money from other countries so that she will do what they ask. Which is better?

This could end up being a tie, and that’s probably a good thing. The lesson here is that we would like to have someone with good values, who cares about leaving people alone, letting them have their freedom, and who tries to do the right thing.

However, sometimes we don’t have that choice. Should we ignore the kind of people the candidates are and let the other matters help us choose, or should we vote for a third-party candidate who might represent our principles?

This is ongoing conversation — especially as each new revelation about the candidates come out. WikiLeaks, for example, can create an opportunity to point out Hillary Clinton’s moral and ethical failings. Her behavior is so wrong in so many ways. Then contrast it with an age-appropriate discussion about Trump’s alleged behavior. Ask which is worse.

Related: A Vote for Trump is a Vote for Our Kids

As you can see, this is all about explaining the election with a set of analogies, asking questions, and seeing which way your child goes.  Again, it isn’t about steering them one way or another, but explaining why America is having such trouble this year.

After all, one of the most important gifts you can offer your children, to decrease the chances of raising a leftist — is to provide them with opportunities to reason.