Did you want to grow up to be president when you were a kid? For many American children, it isn't uncommon to aspire to run the country someday. This year, though, nearly two-thirds of children responded to a survey saying they have no interest in growing up to be president — results that highlight 2016's election fatigue as well as the pressure and stress surrounding the November ballot, The Washington Post reports:
The kids polled said being president was too difficult, too stressful, and too much pressure. One unnamed 9-year-old girl said she wouldn't want the job because she "would be scared that I would do something wrong if I get elected" and that she "wouldn't like all of the attention."Parents are not shielding their children from the political news — 80 percent of kids said the election is discussed at home. And even if the negativity and anxiety of this presidential campaign is not explicitly or intentionally shared, kids pick up on information around them. So, if they're privy to the same vitriol as the rest of the adult public, it's no wonder a majority of kids would want no part of presidential politics. [The Washington Post]
Many of the concerns adults have about this year's presidential candidates concern children, too. Forty-four percent of kids said that honesty is the most important trait for a president, followed by 19 percent who said kindness and 18 percent who said smarts.
"Our children are watching and listening to us. When they hear us talking about a candidate's trustworthiness, as we have in spades during this election cycle, they pick up on it and it's reinforcing what they already tend to believe," said Christine French Cully, the editor-in-chief of Highlights, a children's magazine. The Highlights survey reached 2,000 American kids between 6 and 12 years old, and you can read more about the results here.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
