If you've been trying to shield your kid from the election, I bet that it's a huge failure at this point. With candidate ads running almost non-stop here in Illinois for local candidates, it must be almost impossible for Toyota to run an ad in Ohio. So what's a parent or super cool aunt/uncle to tell the kid about the election?

First, you could whip out a few books. Cookie magazine gives us a nice starter list. There's also:

• Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone


• Mama Went to Jail for the Vote, by Kathleen Karr and


• Vote! by Eileen Christelow

Then you can take your kid to the polls when you vote. Yes, yes, the campaign is focused on daughters, but just like Take Your Daughters to Work Day, evolve it to your sons, too. And again, super cool aunts and uncles can participate! Borrow the kid, give their parents a break while you two stand in line to cast your vote for president.

Some might ask why we should even talk to our kids about the election, especially as it turns super ugly. For one thing, kids are watching and forming their own opinions. Gender Public Advocacy Coalition released a study on what children think of candidates:

A new study has found that one in four children thought it was illegal for women and minorities to hold the office of president, while one in three attributed the lack of female, African-American and Latino presidents to voter's racial and gender bias.

Yes, you read that correctly. Kids think it is illegal for women and minorities to be president. So much for inspiring children to shoot for the stars.

That startling study should encourage us all to talk to the kids in our lives about the election, no matter who you are supporting. They are watching, listening and making their own decisions. Do you really want the little Latina girl in your life thinking it's illegal for her to be president?

[image: The White House Project]