How to talk to kids about the election

I got some GREAT advice from America's government teacher, Sharon McMahon

This is Post 2 of 2 on a small series about the election. First of all, thank you for your kindness and nuanced responses to last week’s post. You confirmed why platforms that give us space to think and express ourselves in more than a few characters might be the best places to have these kinds of discussions. Here’s Post 1, in case you’d like to read it.

How I'm making my election decisions

Now onto today’s post!

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My kids are getting older in a world that is getting more complicated.

Actually, I don’t know about that. The world has always been complicated. Maybe it’s easier than ever to see it. My dad is full of great sayings, and if you’ve been here for a minute, you’ve heard this one before. When Brady was born, my dad told Bryan and me to remember that we were raising adults, not children. I think about that pretty often, and it influences the way we make parent our children. Because it’s true: the little ones we’re raising today won’t stay little forever.

Right now, we are the ones who are stewarding this world for our children. We have the reins for a little while, the ability to collectively guide and shape the society we want to live in. And we’re guiding young people who, before we know it, are going to use the tools and stories we’ve given them to step into the world and steward it for themselves. So when our kids are adults, when they’re faced with running the world we’ve given them, what tools do I want them to have? I have a few ideas.