It’s pretty amazing how much our kids 
pick up from what’s going on around them. No matter how much we think they are not really paying attention. I was pretty shocked when my son’s teacher had them fill out a sheet of If I was the president at school. It’s not president’s day anytime soon – so I’m guessing it’s because of the election coming up. My son is very anti-violence, anti-bullying, anti-anyone getting hurt in any way. We had to leave the move The Secret Life of Pets because of the mean pets and only made it about 10 minutes into Jungle Book before the quick side exit occurred. – Surprisingly he does like Angry Birds, but something about it makes it tinged with good guy coming out ahead and humor that seems to make it ok for him.
With the election coming up, we have discussed a little bit at home about why we prefer one candidate over another. How horrible we think it is about some of the things being said and we sometimes have things on television… though it is actually pretty rare. Usually interspersed with the news as we are trying to catch the weather. I think when news of Hillary Clinton’s Pneumonia came out I pulled it up on my computer to check that the reports were true. I would suspect the most he gets from us are discussions between myself and friends and myself and my husband with can you believe that and in our house it’s pretty one sided and mostly directed at Oh My, I can’t believe that was said and is that true? I know with facebook, it’s pretty rare for me to publicly post what side of the line I’m on unless it’s something so funny or so outrageous I have to go with it! – And I have posted a few things with both sides of the story….
So to see this I was wracking my brain to try to figure out where the impression would be given that the president has two jobs – keep the peace (yep that’s an important one) and say bad things about his opponent. I actually have watched and President Obama has been pretty restrained despite the naysayers, birthers, and bullies that have things to say about what they think of him.
I do realize what my little one is referring to is the presidential candidates… but really anyone who is honest (and intelligent about it) would have to admit that the president’s job is not easy. No matter what you do as President there will be people that will ALWAYS think you should have done something else. Many choices are the lesser of two evils and people will never know what would have happened if the other ‘road’ was taken. So I know personally I could never fault someone for making those decisions. For the candidates that are hoping to be in that position, we hope that they know what they are facing. The question really is when you get in office, how do you make those decisions and live with your choices without thought to what everyone else is saying about your choices.
For now though, how do we protect our children from the belief that the correct way to become president isn’t on your own merit but by tearing down someone else? I know some of the ads are put out by political groups and supporters, but when the candidates themselves throw themselves into the fray and spend their time insulting the other candidate, how do we learn what the future with them would hold? What are their policies?
I want to see a candidate show how they treat a child? How they treat a puppy? How do they deal with their family? How do they deal with other people’s family? What happens if someone (just an anybody) approaches them with a question? I want to see how they handle real life? How do they handle stress? Respond to a disaster? Do they use it as a photo op or do they quietly meet with the families and arrange support in any way they can?
That’s really what I would like to know….. As for what I would like my son to know about being president….. a president keeps the peace, he serves as the face of the nation, the head diplomat between the US and all other countries, but also the rock that is there to support the nation in the event of national tragedy…. That’s what I think a president is….
I am a SAHM/WAHM of three boys ranging in age from 13 to 29. We are working on saving enough for college at the same time as dealing with school and our older independent kids. I author a few blogs, including http://teched4kids.com. I have in the past taught computer information technology classes for the local university and taught workshops for kid's in technology education besides being the Kentucky State FIRST LEGO League Championship Coordinator from 2005 to 2008. I now work as a computer consultant, run a handmade home business, and am available for workshops. Life here is always an adventure!
