Are you flippin kidding me?

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

My 6 year old and I were driving today and she says in a very small voice from the back seat
"I hate President Obama", so I ask her why. Apparently a boy in her first grade class told her the Obama allows babies to be killed when a needle is stuck into their head. The boy's parents phone was disconnected so I emailed them and they said " Thank you for telling us, we will address this with him. The fact that 6 year olds should have to think in any way about this just makes me so sad. Right before the election she told me she did not want Romney to win because someone in her class told her that if breaks her arm it will just have to stay broken.

[ArizonaGirl]

Wow, just Wow.

I might think about saying something to the teacher. I'm not sure what can be done about it now, but I just think that it is so inappropriate at this age.

[StantonHyde]

Kids are just repeating what their parents say. This is why I do my very best to make sure that I don't say disparaging things about candidates personally (Obama/Romney) and that I try to explain that different people think different things about how the country should be run. My kids are 7 and 10, they don't get the nuances. And even if they did, I don't think I would feel the need to resort to hyperbole. I am sorry your DD had to hear all this--its hard for kids to figure it all out and they get scared. (which is why their classmates blurt this stuff out--it scares them) You can certainly be for/against certain candidates without painting the other person as evil incarnate.

My dad had very strong views that abortions should be legal etc after viewing the aftermath of so many illegal abortions gone wrong pre-Roe V Wade (he was an internal medicine intern/resident and worked in the ER). He was able to relay real stories and I do respect his experience. But I think I will be able to give my children a better balanced viewpoint (of course, compared to my dad, that's not saying much :wink2:)

On the flip side, goodness only knows how you explain the "legitimate rape" guy to your kids.............glad I don't live in that state.

[kijip]

Many parents seem to have no awareness that kids can and do hear them kevetching about politics. And that anything they say is repeated by children and results in a crazy game of telephone as the nuances don't translate. Though there is no nuance to be seen in this example. My jaw would be on the floor. Hopefully your email was a wake up call for them.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

On the flip side, goodness only knows how you explain the "legitimate rape" guy to your kids.............glad I don't live in that state.[/QUOTE]


There are idiots in pretty much every state unless someone has recently designated an idiot-free zone to which I have not been invited :)

[JBaxter]

Susan you know my opinion of Obama but WHO would even broach that subject with a 6 yr old.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

The mother immediately emailed me back (the email was very nice, just an fyi thing) and said thank you for bringing it to my attention, I will address it with him. No problem with her being pro-choice, I am just trying to wrap my head around letting a six year old hear this stuff.

[cuca_]

I'm glad she sent a nice email back. It may be that he did not hear it from his parents, but from a friend. I posted around election time how my 7 year old told me that she had voted for Romney at the mock election at school because a friend told her that Obama had killed a million people by blowing up a building. I know the friend's mom, and I would be very surprised if she was saying anything like this. Obviously some adult said something related to that at some point and DD's friend heard some version of it, but I think it is like a game of telephone, and the kids keep spreading it around. It is scary that adults are talking to kids or within their ear shot in such graphic detail and about such mature topics!

Oh, and I live in Arkin's state. Thankfully, my kids never saw, heard or read anything about his statements. That would have been a tough one!

[Hawkeyewife]

I am so sorry that this happened. I had a similar thing happen with my kids the weekend before the election. My parents had them for a visit and my sister (who is a 4th grade teacher) brought her daughters over to play. Both of her daughters kept insisting that Mitt Romney is Evil among other things. When I asked my sister about this, she did not apologize and seemed offended that I would question this. She was very open and even offered that she shared her opinions with her class about her disdain for Romney (and love for Obama). I felt bad for the families whose children are in my sister's class but I do remember educators at both the high school and college level doing this when I was in school.

I did not vote for the President but since we live in a battleground state I did take my children to both an Obama rally and Romney rally (and they missed a few hours of school those days) so they could "see" politics in action. I am glad that I did and try to present the election in as balanced a way as I could (despite my own Libertarian views.)

[wellyes]

I am all for treating both men with respect, but I can see a parent who is passionate about politics maybe going too far in telling a kid who they're rooting for. What I can't imagine is graphic descriptions of worst-case-scenario abortions in the presence of a six year old. That poor kid.

Glad the mother acknowledged the problem appropriately.

[DrSally]

Another. Child said something similar, although not as graphic to DS before the election. Ds came home and said this kid told him "Obama kills babies ". I was floored. I told Ds that was absolutely untrue and that we don't tell lies about the other candidate. I'm not ready to explain abortion to my 6 yo, but the statement itself is inflamatory and false. I'm glad you emailed the mother. Sounds like it made her aware that her more aware of how her comments are absorbed and repeated.

[arivecchi]

That is a huge pet peeve of mine. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs but what is the need to brainwash your kids with this junk? Ugh.

Good for you for emailing the mom.

[dogmom]

The mother immediately emailed me back (the email was very nice, just an fyi thing) and said thank you for bringing it to my attention, I will address it with him. No problem with her being pro-choice, I am just trying to wrap my head around letting a six year old hear this stuff.

TV. News. Radio. Other adults they may overhear. My kids pick up a lot of things when I think they are not paying attention. Darn you NPR. Someone could easily have been talking about some of the abuses in certain regions from China's one child policy and government officials trying to meet quotas.

[StantonHyde]

There are idiots in pretty much every state unless someone has recently designated an idiot-free zone to which I have not been invited :)

Oh I live in Utah, I think our legislators could win a special prize. Last session, they made sure it was legal to shoot feral cats. You can't have a dog loose in the back of your pickup but its ok if your kids are back there--because we have big families and its too much of a burden for people in rural communities to buy cars that seat everybody.....