Election Resources for Kids

     The Presidential election is less than a month away, and boy does it show!  Campaign ads are flooding the airways, newscasts are abuzz about who is winning the latest poll, and debates are all the talk on social media.  Naturally, children are aware that all of this is going on, and they are sure to have questions.  What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?  What is the Electoral College?  How is it affected by the popular vote?  What does the President do?  Understanding political positions and the election process can be hard even for adults. It can be even more difficult to try to explain so that children can understand.  I've scoured the web and found some resources to try to help you explain it all to the children in your life, and maybe even have a little fun along the way.

Who is running for President this year?
     Let me start by suggesting you simply visit Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's personal websites.  However, I understand that sometimes it's not easy to take the carefully worded propaganda on a candidate's website and explain it so that a younger child can understand it.  In that case, let me also suggest that you visit TIME for Kids' pages about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  They do a nice job of watering down the information so that just the facts about the candidates' lives come through for the readers.  For a very basic introduction for the youngest readers, PBS Kids' The Democracy Project has a page with a few basic facts about both candidates.


What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?
     This is a much tougher question to answer.  No matter what search parameters I entered, I only seemed to find very biased answers, many of which were full of attitudes I do not wish to pass on to my children.  I believe the best way to help you answer this question is simply to lead you to the Democratic platform site, and the Republican platform site where you can see what each party says about their beliefs.  TIME for Kids has a special section on their website which covers some of the current issues and where the candidates stand on those issues.  Finally, if you have access to a Brain Pop membership, they have a video which effectively summarizes the two political parties.

How does the election process work?
     The Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Virginia, Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, and PBS's Zoom tv show all have pages that explain the process. Brain Pop has a free Win the Whitehouse game that allows children to play along as a candidate, making decisions about how to run their campaign.

What is the Electoral College?
     Congress for Kids, Scholastic, and Social Studies for Kids all have very cut and dry articles explaining what the Electoral College is and how it works.  For a more animated explanation, check out Schoolhouse Rock's I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College video.  Also, Scholastic Magazine has a video about the Electoral College and an Electoral College Challenge game on it's election page.

What does the President do?
     Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids has a section in each grade level covering the branches of government and their roles.  Congress for Kids and Scholastic both have articles explaining the role of the President.  However, PBS Kids' Democracy Project's President for a Day game and Scholastic's Seven Hats Challenge game let children experience the job of being President (and as everyone knows it's more fun to be President than it is to read about being President.)

Need more help?  
Here is a list of books to buy or check out from your local library with more information.  What resources do you have in your favorites list and bookmarks about the election?

Karissa