Thanks to the 2016 election, kids don't want to be president anymore

(Image credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

published 4 October 2016

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]

"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.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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