How do parents talk about politics with their kids?
Summary: More in Common asked American parents about how they address political and social issues with their children. Our findings reveal a broad spectrum of opinions, showing that there is no single “Democrat parent” or “Republican parent” perspective. Instead, parents across the political spectrum prioritize instilling strong values in their children rather than specific political beliefs but acknowledge that children are hearing about politics from other sources—especially at school.
As the 2024 presidential election looms, many US adults must not only navigate their own thoughts and feelings about the country’s political tensions, but also decide what, if anything, to say to their children. Millions of US children have now started their school year--just in time for the Harris-Trump presidential debate--and parents may be reflecting on what their kids might hear in the classroom from peers and how these discussions could impact them.
As part of our research through our Americans in Conversation (AIC) online panel, we previously asked the panelists who are also parents (around 60 Americans) about how they approach talking about politics with their kids. Below are some of the themes that emerged from their responses.1
Teaching values matters more than teaching politics
Throughout all questions we asked, parents of all political backgrounds on our panel routinely stress that teaching their children strong moral values—particularly to treat others with respect—is more important than teaching them a particular political viewpoint.
“I simply try to slowly teach [my son] the importance of respecting others and being a good person.”
💬 Bill, aged 18-24 Black man, Democrat, Progressive Activist, and parent to a 3-year-old2
“We raise our kids to be open minded, accepting and to treat everyone with respect. We do this because it is the right way to approach life not because it is a political or social issue.”
💬 Benjamin, 40-year-old white man, Independent, Passive Liberal, and parent to an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old
“I will discuss certain current events or topics with my child, but I will focus on teaching basic values such as kindness, respect, and fairness.”
💬 Dakota, aged 35-44 white man, Republican, Traditional Conservative, and parent to a 10-year-old
This finding mirrors previous survey work. In 2022, Pew Research Center found that less than one in five US parents (16%) say it’s important to them that their children share their political beliefs.
They also found that around a third of US parents (35%) say it’s important to them that their children share their religious beliefs. Further, Pew claims that “parents saw both religious and political transmission as much less important than passing along other values, such as being honest and ethical, hardworking, and ambitious.”
Parents’ decision about when to talk to their children about politics does not appear to be partisan—but what issues parents discuss vary
Most parents with children under the age of seven on our panel share they do not talk to their children about political or social issues, typically noting they feel their children are too young to understand. For parents with children older than seven, however, about half report talking to their children about politics and half report not doing so. Importantly, this holds along political lines—Democrats and Republicans in our panel are equally likely to report talking to their children about political and social issues.
For those parents who do talk about political issues, what issues they say they discuss varies based on the political affiliations of our panel respondents. For example, Republican parents on our panel are more likely to report talking to their children about economic issues such as inflation and taxes—whereas no Democrat respondents mention they bring up these topics with their children.
“I do talk about certain issues like inflation because it affects them too when we have to go to the grocery store or if they want us to buy them things.”
💬Scott, 41-year-old white man, Republican, Passive Liberal, and parent to a 9-year-old and 11-year-old
“I think it is important to be able to understand why some things are the way they are. Like where sales tax goes and why we pay it.”
💬Dia, 56-year-old white woman, Republican, Moderate, and parent to adult children
While Republican parents on our panel are more likely to say they talk about economic issues, parents of both parties share they discuss a variety of issues and recent events with their children.
“I started talking to my oldest when he was 7-8 years old about the pandemic. I also talk to him about school shootings (as they might relate to his own safety at school) as well as the importance of caring about others who are different. We have talked about LGBTQ+ issues, and he takes an interest in PRIDE month/events.”
💬Wyatt, 38-year-old white man, Democrat, Progressive Activist, and parent to a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old
“Everything from crime, social injustice, homelessness, and LGBTQ.”
💬Lori, 35-year-old Hispanic woman, Republican, Moderate, and parent to a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old
We also found that parents on our panel from racial minority backgrounds are more likely to report talking to their children about issues related to race than white parents. This finding mirrors psychological research which shows that white parents talk to their children about race less than parents from racial minority backgrounds do, and later in development than parents from racial minority backgrounds do.
“I do talk to my children about the issue with Mexicans not being able to cross the border, due to my 7-year-old having friends that are Mexican and Indian and different things and her wanting to know why this is a problem.”
💬Talia, 32-year-old Black woman, Democrat, Passive Liberal, and parent to four children between 1 and 7 years old
“We talk about being Asian in a predominantly white community. We also talk about racism especially after George Floyd. I think I started when she was in kindergarten.”
💬 Mindy, 45-year-old Asian American woman, Independent, Passive Liberal, and parent to an 11-year-old
School is the most mentioned source of political information outside of the home, and parents on our panel are OK with this—so long as the information shared is accurate.
Regardless of what parents talk about with their children, they may have little control over whether their children hear about political and social issues. When asked if their children hear about politics from anyone outside of the home, parents on our panel mention a variety of sources including friends, extended family members, social media, and television. The most cited source from our respondents, however, is school.
“I think [my daughter] learns a lot about current events in school. She will come home and tell me things going on before I know them.”
💬Connor, 40-year-old white man, Democrat, Moderate, and parent to a 17-year-old
Most parents report feeling alright with their children hearing about political and social issues from other sources, but many highlight that they want to be sure the information their children heard is accurate.
“If [my son] learns something from school or from a friend I would want to know so I can check if it’s accurate. Otherwise, he is free to hear other people’s opinions and form his own.”
💬Beatrice, aged 25-34 white woman, Democrat, Traditional Liberal, and parent to a one-year-old
“I feel that [my son] is exposed to these issues in school and social media which is fine by me as he needs to learn how to manage good information and misinformation for himself.”
💬Rick, 57-year-old Asian American man, Democrat, Progressive Activist, and parent to a 16-year-old
“[My children] learn from discussions in school and through social media. I don’t like it, but it is there. Some of their teachers are biased and social media is full of all kinds of propaganda.”
💬Andrea, 58-year-old Hispanic woman, Republican, Traditional Liberal, and parent to a 15-year-old and 16-year-old
“Our school system is very good about discussing the country’s political and social issues. I believe it was a good balance between what the school was saying and what I was saying as a parent.”
💬Tyler, 62-year-old white man, Republican, Moderate, and parent to adult children
Resources
Regardless of whether their parents choose to discuss politics, children in the US are learning about political and social issues through sources outside the home. Most parents on our panel with children over the age of 7 report that their children are aware of at least some political and social issues facing the country. In fact, developmental psychology research suggests that children may be developing political attitudes even earlier in childhood than that. Parents may need to be prepared to have conversations with their children about political and social events--whether they want to do so or not.
Are you a parent deciding whether to have age-appropriate conversations with your children about political and social issues? The following may be useful resources for you:
American Psychological Association resources on talking to children about the election and talking to children about difficult news
How to Raise a Citizen by Dr. Lindsey Cormack (For more information before you buy the book, Dr. Cormack was recently interviewed for The Power of Us Newsletter and Is My Kid the Asshole? Newsletter)
How to talk to your kids about voting and the election by Leslie Gonzalez, KPBS
Utah State University’s parenting toolkit and tips for learning to disagree better
As the 2024 presidential election heightens political tensions in this country, American parents are grappling with how to discuss these issues with their children—on top of their many other demanding responsibilities. While we may feel politically divided, our research finds that the parents we talked with, regardless of their political views, share a common goal of raising children with strong moral values. Whether parents actively engage in political discussions themselves or with their children, they can play a crucial role in modeling those values and positive civic behavior. Having positive civic role models can help children navigate our complex political landscape—and as our previous research found—is a need for Americans of all ages.
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Methodology
From November 28 to December 13, 2023, Americans in Conversation participants engaged in a research activity about their views on talking to children and teenagers about politics. Participants responded to a series of open-ended questions where they either reflected on their experiences as parents or were asked to imagine how they would talk to their children if they were parents.
A total of 128 US participants completed the activity. Of this, 41 are parents to at least one child under 18, 28 are parents to at least one child over 18, and 69 are non-parents (note: subtotals add up to greater than 128 because some respondents were parents to children both under and over 18). The results summarized here reflect the data from the 59 parents in the sample.
Quotations from this activity are included in this newsletter. Where provided, names have been changed to protect respondent privacy. Grammar and punctuation may have been lightly edited for clarity.
About Americans in Conversation
Americans in Conversation is a cutting-edge, mixed media, mixed methods research platform run by More in Common that enables testing of a wide range of content. At its core, it is a tool that helps us understand the views of everyday Americans. It consists of a politically and demographically diverse and representative online community of about 200 Americans with whom we can engage continuously. We make the platform available to partners to provide rapid response insights at key moments and for planned longer-term purposes. We draw insights from the platform through analysis of participants’ video journaling, surveys, discussion groups and in-depth interviews. We have found that qualitative data is a powerful and underused way to both understand and present the views of Americans. The rich quotes and long-form thoughts of Americans on various issues are vital for gaining a deeper understanding of people’s underlying beliefs.
Our sample size is relatively small (see methodology section). As a result, we avoid making broad generalizations here about US parents unless we also cite past research with larger samples. However, we feel the findings from our panel are useful for identifying trends and possible avenues for future research.
In addition to demographic information, we include the corresponding “Hidden Tribe” (Progressive Activist, Traditional Liberal, Passive Liberal, Politically Disengaged, Moderate, Traditional Conservative, and Devoted Conservative) for our qualitative research participants. Check out Hidden Tribes to learn more about our segmentation.