Tips on Talking to Your Kids About Election Season

1 Prepare them for the stories that will come out of the news, as candidates are going to say and do things to get attention and grab headlines.

2 When they ask you about the latest political crisis, take the opportunity to share your take, or say, “I don’t have the answer for that right now, but let’s go online and explore this together later.”

3 Kids are going to hear opinions from teachers, broadcast news and friends. If your kids are on social media or YouTube, they may be exposed to memes, influencers’ rants, extremist videos, trolls, digital advertising and more.

4 Discuss how a political ad is like a regular commercial for a product, who paid for the ad, and if political ads actually influence the outcome of an election.

5 Candidates are trained to stay “on message.” They stick to their talking points, avoid direct questions and hedge when they don’t want to be pinned down. Point this out to your kids.

6 You may have to explain to your kids certain terms and situations you never thought you’d have to at this age. Explain how candidates may bring up some things as a distraction or to get attention. Ask your kids to identify two specific positions for each candidate to keep them focused on the real issues.

7 Draw a link between your kids’ experience of student body elections at school and those on the state and national levels.