So my 6 yo says "I hate Bush. He does bad things" and my husband says

[GreenPartyVoter]

"Don't listen to your mother". x(

I didn't get into it with him just then because we were all eating supper but I was sorely tempted to.

Anyway this was brought on simply by the fact that the little one and I have been trying to memorize the names of all the presidents. I did _not_ coach him to say bad things about ** except when he asked me why I don't like the guy I said that he has done some very bad things. That was it. I wasn't out to poison his mind. He asked me my opinion of the man and I gave it to him. I think I will tell hubby that in order to be fair, I would be more than happy to tell the small fry all the bad stuff all the other presidents got into as well.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Did your husband vote for Bush in 2004?

nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. I don't think so. He's no fan of his thanks to NCLB but he tinks I am

a loony lefty and that every political thing I say is over the top.

[Mythsaje]

2. That's a hell of a thing to tell a kid. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. That's what I said to him. I have enough trouble getting this kid to mind

me as it is without his dad saying something that to the kid sounds like carte blanche to run right over me.

[Mythsaje]

9. Someone did that to me, there'd be some fireworks...

Not in front of the kid, though. :)

[EST]

4. Heheh! Truth is not 'poison.'

(well, maybe it is to republicons)

[Wickerman]

5. wow, must be hell

I can't imagine being married to someone whom I didn't share fundamental political beliefs with. I tried dating a Rpublican once and it really didn't work. Does he still support bush even thru this recent crap?

[cry baby]

6. not nice for hubby to tell your little one "don't listen to your mother".

That would be a conversation starter in my house, of course, not around the kids. Good luck!

[leftchick]

8. is your husband of your persuasion politically?

If he is, I can not imagine his objection to your child knowing the TRUTH. Has bush done ANY good things? <crickets chirping>

Good on your baby! And you are a great Mom!

:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. We aren't even on the same planet politically or religiously. Makes life

a bit tough at times. :(

But I hope that my little guy will one day understand why ** is so bad and not just try parroting something he heard because he thinks it'll impress mom. *l*

[leftchick]

19. whooo boy!

Things could get bad soon. My best thoughts and hopes are with you and your baby. I give my two boys examples of why bush is a liar and a killer. Anytime they bring home a RW talking point from one of their bushbot friends we google for some information on the issue and the truth hopefully.

I wish you luck.

[beyurslf]

10. I taught my nieces that Bush is president because he lied

and that he is an evil man. I also told them Republicans either want to ruin the country or are too stupid to know thats what they want.

They are 8 and 6. Never too early to start. The 8 year old wants to be Governor (like Kathleen Sebelius) when she grows up. When her dad says she could be the first woman President, I like to tell him that she may well be President, but by then we will have had several women.

[EFerrari]

11. You guys need to set some ground rules because

6 yo needs consistency.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Last argument I had with my husband a few weeks ago

He told me (just like you, at dinner and in front of a kid) that the "whacky right is as crazy as the loony left". This was AFTER I told my family that I felt myself moving more and more left and they may as well call me "loony left".

I didn't speak to him the rest of the night. I was so pissed. Next morning, I let him have it. LOL

[OffWithTheirHeads]

14. That is a patriotic thing to tell a kid

Now start teaching the kid about the constitution and the bill of rights. Obviously, most voters were not taught about these things and I don't think it is ever too early to teach.

[Selatius]

15. I think sending sons and daughters to die for a damn lie counts as "bad"

The last thing a parent wants to do is deface his or her child's tombstone, and it looks like this:

"Died protecting the US from Saddam"
"Died liberating Iraqis from tyranny"
"Died preventing Iraq from splintering apart"
"Died for some unknown reason only God knows"

[skylarmae]

16. 'don't listen to your mother'!!!! Oh, no, you didn't......

you are a saint to have been able to hold your tongue, but I'm not so sure you should have just let it go...
Children should listen to their mother and father, period. Especially at six years old. So, if he listens to his father, the next time you say anything what happens??? Just wondering.

Good luck to you, Mrs.....

[politicaholic]

My mum used to read my brother and I the paper before bed...

one time when I got in trouble she made me write down my most revered current world leader and what he would have done in my situation.

[still_one]

17. hey, if he thinks it so easy to raise a kid, ask him to do it

[dannofoot]

18. I would not let my kids use the word "Hate..."

Hate, I explained, was a very powerful, very serious word that you should only use if you really understand it.

To this day, now that they are teens, they'll say, "I totally dislike" a certain food. It sure beats hearing a 14 year-old's litany of "I hate broccoli...I hate this show...I hate these jeans...I hate that kid who sits next to me."

I don't mean to be preachy. But after awhile, the term "I hate" just becomes such a part of a person's vocabulary...and it really is a very strong word, warranted only when one can truly understand what it is they are "hating."

[Wetzelbill]

20. well, you could always marry me instead, however.....

I am quite eccentric, so you may want to hold off on that. :)

Ok, seriously, he probably didn't mean to say such an oafish thing. Things just pop out. Make sure you let your husband know that he can't undermine your authority with your kid. For example, if he's out playing with his friends and they are getting into something they shouldn't be doing, well if you tell him not to do whatever that is again, he may not listen to you because his dad told him not to listen to you. That's not good at all, it could even be dangerous, if he decided that mommy's warning "not to run out in the street without looking" wasn't worth listening to or something like that.

You probably don't need to start telling him horror stories about other presidents, in fairness, you should tell your husband and son that your comments were just your opinion. Let your son know that it's good to look at all sides and figure out his own opinion. But, just make sure that your authority as a parent isn't undercut again. You need to stand up for that for sure. :)

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. Funny the things they pick up.

I don't even remember teaching my son politics when he was a toddler, but I learned that he must have been listening to my rants. In the early 90s he was around five years old when we took him and his younger sister for a trip overseas. Upon returning we got a particularly mean looking custom's guy. I don't know why I got nervous, but I did. He looked like he was trying to make up his mind how hard a time he wanted to give us, and in a moment of decision, he looked down at my son and asked, "Who's the president of the United States?" Without flinching, my son answered, "Clinton." The custom's guy smiled and seemed surprised and passed us through.

They do listen, you know.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

22. What a sweet story-

I just got the "awwww" factor going!

[lostnfound]

30. My son is not quite 5...

and in a class of 25 kids, evenly split among 3, 4, and 5 year olds.

On President's day the teacher asked who is president now, and he was the only one who answered correctly. Which is really weird since I've tried not to talk about Bush around him because I didn't want to warp his view of government at such a young age.

Since then, though, I have had a serious conversation with him about it, after he started talking about wanting a 'shoot-airplane' and asking if they "drop bombs".

[azurnoir]

23. During the "04 election

our cat had kittens and I was explaining to my then 7yr old son that we were going to put the kittens up for "adoption" and what that meant, he got quite for minute then popped up and "I know! that's what we can do with Bush" I remember thinking good idea but who'd want him.

[Atman]

24. When I was working the polls during 04...

One of the funniest things I saw was the couple who came in with their two young kids. They split up, he took the little girl to one booth, she took the little boy in with her to another booth. When they came out it was actually kind of cute. They all walked across the gymnasium floor together hand in hand. Aww. About halfway to the door, the little boys turned to dad and yelled out "Dad, Mom voted for BUSH!"

Dad stopped dead in his tracks, the group broke their hand-hold...dad glared at mom with laser beams and fire coming from his eyes, mom just screeched the kid's name -- "BILLY!" or whatever. Dad took the two kids by the hands and mom walked out by herself.

Okay, maybe it wasn't "funny" funny. But it sure made for a good story!

[Catch22Dem]

25. WOW!!!

Can you imagine your SO voting for that fucker? Over KERRY???

[Atman]

26. I honestly cannot imagine what I'd do

We've been through a lot together, but man! That'd be a tough one to deal with. It'd be like if I caught her cheating on me or something. It'd be bad.

[Catch22Dem]

28. Funny, I was thinking the same thing

We've been through a LOT in 14 years, but I don't think we could get through that. Honestly!

[Clark2008]

29. Especially since it was the FEMALE in that relationship who did.

Usually, in split political households, it's the female who's the Dem. I know that's probably a stereotype, but I can't imagine any woman voting for Bush unless she's one of those brainwashed fundies who lets their husband pick their (awful) candidates.

Luckily, everyone in my household - including my own 6-year-old - is a Democrat (whether they can vote or not. LOL) and so are my parents and my husband's parents and sister. Family get-togethers are nothing but a good ole Bush bash. :7

[tjwash]

27. Well, my wife has had to shut me up a few times.

And she is as Liberal as they come. What actually got me though, is that she pointed out that if I get pissed off and yell at the TV every time Bush or one of his cronies say's something stupid, that I would be screaming at the TV all the time. And she was right.

[helderheid]

31. I have a similar situation with my 5 and 3 year old. They call him

"the liar". My husband isn't being as judgemental towards me about it but has expressed concerns about how the outside world may treat them if they talk like that in public (we live in Utah). I can understand and I've tried to explain to them both that many people where we live believe in this man and we can't call him that (for their sakes).