Moms Discuss How To Talk To Children About The 2024 Presidential Election Results
Your kids are aware of what's going on in the world whether you like it or not.
DimaBerlin | Shutterstock The results of the 2024 presidential election have left the United States reeling.
Some are excited for the future, knowing that their candidate will soon be entering the White House. Others are disappointed and facing the reality that what they hoped for has not come to pass.
This can be a lot for anyone to take in, but it’s undeniably difficult for children who have very little, if any, understanding of government and politics.
A struggling mom asked for advice about how to talk to her young son about the 2024 presidential election results.
One mom took to Reddit’s “Mommit” forum to ask an important question for her son.
“My son, six, was really invested in Kamala Harris being our next president. It’s 2:30 a.m. and I’m currently at a loss on how to talk to him about what is happening. Anyone have any tips?” she questioned.
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One group of moms came together to offer support and thoughts about what could be done to help children through this time of change.
Other moms quickly came to the rescue with their thoughts on what this mom could tell her son.
“I told my six-year-old this morning that Trump won and it’s not what we wanted,” one said. “That’s it. My kids understand the concept of voting and democracy, but at this age, they should never be made to feel like it’s the end of the world or that they’re in danger because of a candidate winning/losing.”
Another mom offered, “Let him know that it didn’t go his way this time. Turn the TV off. Do something nice like pancakes for breakfast. I think kids his age mostly pick up on their parents’ energy. If you let him know he’s safe and all is well, that is what he will believe.”
“I’d be calm and try to equate it with running a physical race,” someone else added. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but she tried her hardest.”
The overall consensus of Redditors was that while children will have questions after a major event like this, those questions should be handled with gentleness. Kids don’t fully understand what’s going on yet, but they know enough to know something is happening.
Although you may want to shield your kids, keeping them from election news is really not possible.
One mom responded with shock that this six-year-old even knew anything about the election.
“I’m not an American, but do you not shield your children from political stress?” she asked incredulously. “For goodness’ sake, he’s a child, he can’t even vote! He has an entire lifetime to be disappointed, let him be a child.”
The mother who made the original post politely explained that that was simply not practical.
“I cannot shield my child from a presidential election,” she said. “Everyone is talking about it, including his classmates. The only way to shield him would be to pull him from school which is obviously not an option.”
Experts agree that it just wouldn’t work to keep children from knowledge of an election. The Child Mind Institute said, “It might be tempting to assume that children are too young to be touched by this and needn’t be involved in conversation at home around the election. But it’s important to engage your kids in discussion around elections to help them process the information they’re hearing.”
Whatever side you’re on, there is reason for hope.
The world may seem bleak right now, even if the election went the way that you wanted it to.
There is so much division and hatred encompassing the way we interact with each other now. But that doesn’t mean it’s time for you or your kids to despair. Now, more than ever, it's time to support each other and be an example for our children.
YourTango’s founder and CEO, Andrea Miller, sent an email to staff the day after the election that read, in part, “All is not lost. Not at all. There are many reasons to be hopeful and to have faith in our lives and in each other.”
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.