Presidential elections always come with a bit of apprehension, and the 2024 election is no exception. Psychologists and child experts have repeatedly documented how youth in America care strongly about elections. This can manifest as general anxiety about policies impacting their families or leading to rifts in friend groups, much like politics sometimes does among adults. An element that often adds stress to this dynamic for youth, in particular, is they have no say in the electoral process. We’ve compiled some resources here to help you discuss politics with your mentee if they bring it up, so that you may ease some of that stress and help them better understand how our elections work.
Explore what values are important to your mentee and why. From there, you can collectively think about how those values play out in local and national politics. Are those values being addressed? How and why? Are people from their community being heard? If not, what can be done about that? This is a good place to learn about civic engagement. If your mentee has some questions about your personal political beliefs and you are unsure how to respond, ask them how they feel about that topic and remember to stay age and developmentally appropriate in your conversations. If you still have questions, as always feel free to check in with your mentor director on the best ways to navigate that conversation.
There are all kinds of fantastic resources for students to learn about elections and politics. Here is a list of books to read, including for early readers, that help explain elections. Older students have learned some of the basic workings of elections and government in school, and are often more interested in ways that they can have a voice. PBS has an outstanding collection of resources for middle and high school students that delves into the deeper understandings of issues such as the party system, a history of voter rights, current party platforms, and even media literacy — crucial tools necessary to navigate the abundance of information we encounter every day.
Remember, kids pick up a lot from the adults around them. They may have strong feelings about particular candidates or policies mostly because they’ve heard their adults speaking about them. If they voice a strong opinion, focus on their feelings and help them understand what it is that’s making them have a strong reaction to a policy or politician. They may not be able to vote, but there could be something the two of you could do together to take action on an issue that is important to them (maybe learning more about the topic together, learning how to be a better ally to someone who is being discriminated against, forming a club at school). Focusing on actions that you can take is beneficial for a lot of reasons: it builds leadership skills, it creates a sense of self-confidence, and it is practice for being an engaged community member as an adult.
Resources:
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cbl.30186
- https://www.childrensmn.org/educationmaterials/parents/article/9651/talking-politics-what-to-say-to-your-kids/
- https://kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/mental-health-resources/starting-conversations/parenting-kids-politics
- https://thrive.psu.edu/blog/talking-about-government-and-politics-with-children/