Sometimes, major world events occur that allow us the opportunity to challenge our children's thinking.
The 2020 election certainly fits the bill.
So, how do you answer your kids' questions while still supporting their opinions?
"We do want them to be critical thinkers, we want them to ask questions," says researcher and professor Dr. Valerie Adams- Bass.
When it comes to politics, however, families often get lost in arguing over who won and lost as opposed to WHY a family member supported a candidate or an issue.
To help our kids become more thoughtful, " talk about morals and values," Adams-Bass says. She suggests saying, "'What's our family's morals and values? What do we believe?... Do we believe in fairness, do we believe in being just? Do we believe in everyone being treated equally and have an equal opportunity and access?'"
She says we all throw out big lofty goals like wanting to meet the needs of our country, and we all say that everyone should be treated equally.
Adams-Bass tells Mom2Mom's Maria Sansone that this is a great time to have your children really think concretely, and give them examples.
She tells Sansone, "We say everyone has access, but we even know in the case of women, there was an opportunity when you and I wouldn't be able to have the jobs and careers that we have. So when we're talking about equality, we can pull from all those areas" to challenge our children's views and help them to back up their convictions with facts.
She says it's a chance for adults to do the same, too.
