Why My Kids Won’t Be Watching Any More 2016 Presidential Debates

***I rarely discuss my political beliefs or views on my blog, let alone to my friends.  However, when the political world is influencing my parenting, I’m guessing there are a few of you that this might relate to as well!

I had a moment of parenting genius last week!  It was so good that I had to secretly congratulate myself on this fantastic idea! (I mean anything that combines the entire family in the same room at the same time, an educational experience, and popcorn with M & Ms is great, right? Yeah…I thought so, too!). But before I let you in on my fantastic idea, let me give you a little background…

I grew up knowing very little about politics.

My parents were affiliated with different political parties (one Republican, one Democrat) so they didn’t discuss politics together (or at least not in front of me).

However, I remember many times going into town and waiting while they voted which set a good example of how important voting is.  They also always watched the news and read the newspaper.  My parents knew what was going on in the world.

So I registered to vote when I turned 18 and that was as far as I got to being an informed voter.  Honestly, I was turned off by political anything.  My relatives argued about it at Thanksgiving, it seemed boring, and I didn’t want anything to do with it.

That was until I met my husband.

Jason loves politics. He is always listening to the news and talk radio. He watches every debate. (I though he was nuts when I first met him!)

Being a farming family, political awareness is important.  What happens globally has influence on our finances.  Throughout our marriage, I’ve grown in my awareness of how important it is to actually have at least a small idea of what’s going on in the political world.  I’m no expert but I am aware.  I’m grateful that my husband and I share many of the same views and that we can talk out our differences without arguments.

As a mom, I try to make our home not only a loving environment but also a learning environment.  Our kids know how to do many different tasks around the farm and I’m a firm believer in teaching life skills to help them adjust to the world when they leave home.  Wouldn’t it be a great idea to spend some family time together watching the presidential debate?

Being that it’s an election year (and wanting to teach my kids about the process and candidates) my super great mommy idea was to have the family sit down together with popcorn and M & Ms and watch the candidates debate.

I thought it would be a great plan, until we actually sat down and watched the presidential debate.  I realized that the candidates were setting bad examples not only for our country but for our children.

The last debate was a knock-down brawl and about 30 minutes into it, I knew that my kids won’t be watching  any more 2016 presidential debates.   By watching the debate, my kids learned:

• that name calling is OK.
• bullying people is ok when you don’t get what you want or they something that hurts your feelings.
• bragging is about your accomplishments while bashing others is acceptable.
• it’s alright to belittle what other people do for an occupation.
• we should talk about our genitalia to others.
• that screaming and interrupting each other are acceptable ways of working out a problem.

What kind of example is that?  Maybe I live in an Midwestern bubble, but don’t we want our future leaders to be kind compassionate, and mentors for our kids?

Being a mom of 5, I spend the majority of my time correcting my kids when they do these things.  I’m constantly reminding my kids that name calling is not OK!  It’s rude, mean, and no one appreciates it.  Bullying people is not ok!  Whether you are rich, poor, or in between every person is a child of God.  They’re equally important in His eyes.  Bragging is a characteristic that no one likes.  It takes people of all walks of life to make the world go round.  Whether it’s the dog catcher, Buffalo Wild Wings manager, a teacher, or pastor all of their jobs matter.  People don’t solve problems by yelling, ridiculing, and making fun of other people.  And it’s just ridiculous to talk about your genitalia…that’s private.  Period.

We will continue to teach our kids about the world, politics, and current events but my kids won’t be watching any more 2016 presidential debates.  It’s a sad day when our future leaders are no longer mentors and heroes but instead are more like a bad cable movie.

Hopefully the candidates will realize how childish they are acting and start acting like grown men who are wanting to run a great country.  Until then, my kids won’t be watching any more 2016 presidential debates.  How about yours?

What do you think?  Have the politicians went to far?