So, I took just a moment to compose my thoughts before laying out a careful explanation.

“Girls, that’s just not true. There are millions of both Republicans and Democrats who believe in God and see their political choices as a way to serve God. And both Democrats and Republicans have lots of different views – even amongst themselves - about money and trade with other countries. I know it’s sometimes hard to understand, but instead of just assuming something about all Republicans or all Democrats, it’s always best to get to know the individual and what they believe in. After all, everyone has their own beliefs – and that includes you, even though you’re young. You should figure out the things that matter to you and find out what the candidates believe about those things before you make up your mind.” 

Dead silence filled the air from the back.

I was pretty proud of my little speech and how articulate I had been. I peeked in the rearview mirror to see how well I had actually done. Some had blank looks of acceptance on their faces while others carried looks of confusion. Delaney, however, the youngest of the group, had a deeply pensive expression and I could tell she wanted to ask a question. I was sure that I had struck a chord with her and made a real impact on her young political mind – until I heard her question.

“So, do Democrats believe in unicorns?”

My turn for dead silence.

“Umm…I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

“Well then, I’m a Republican, ‘cause that’s what matters to me.”

I relayed these events to my husband Hal and after a good laugh, we thought some about how most parents tend to steer clear of political discussions with their kids. Because of that, children are on their own to splice together the bits and pieces they get from the airwaves and in the hallways. We decided to be a little more proactive ourselves and we came up with three principles of politics to live by at our house. They are:

1. Model What You Don’t See Enough. Our kids will catch most everything we say, so let’s try to model political conversations the way we wish politicians would do it — calmly centered on the issues at hand. Besides, there’s nothing like a little conversation with a child to sharpen your own intellect. They will want to know why you feel a certain way, so be ready to tell them.

2. Let Our Kids Disagree with Us. Encourage them to do so. Not only will such discourse grow their thinking skills, it will drastically increase their respect for you.

3. Fight for the Right to Fight. Whether we disagree (with our spouses, friends, or kids) is not the issue — whether we can freely disagree without violence or hatred or dirt is the issue. Think of the change for this world if our kids grow up practicing ScreamFree politics.

Like I said, I learned a lot that day. I learned that kids hear and pick up on more than you think. I learned that they need guidance in sorting out all of the stuff that they think they understand. I learned that apparently, my skills in unraveling complicated political intricacies need some work. And I learned that by matter of default, if nothing else, Republicans have a staunch supporter in the 2nd grader who is really hoping for a win this November, for the sake of all the unicorns out there.