Parenting has never been simple, but raising teenagers and young adults in today’s political environment feels like a challenge I could never have imagined. One of the hardest things I grapple with is teaching my children that bullying and hate are not acceptable — lessons I’ve repeated their entire lives — while the country’s most powerful leader openly models those very behaviors. How do I help them understand that what they see on the national stage is not normal, and that the values I raised them with still matter? How do I explain that the words of the President of the United States are not a standard to follow?
Recently, during a visit with my daughter at college, she admitted she’s considering leaving the country — or even not having children at all — because she sees the future here as too uncertain, too divided. It broke my heart. At just 20 years old, she feels the weight of this nation’s turmoil more clearly than millions of adults who don’t seem to see the urgency.
My kids often ask me questions I don’t have easy answers for. The one I hear most often: “Why do people support our current administration?” I wish I could explain it. What I try to do instead is give them facts to counter the misinformation they’re bombarded with, make space for their feelings, and remind them that they have the power to help change what they don’t accept.
Now that two of my kids can vote — and another will be voting in the next midterm — my role looks different. It’s less about shaping their views and more about equipping them to use their own voice. Vote your voice — but with responsibility. That means doing the work to educate yourself on who and what you’re voting for, whether it’s an elected official or a piece of legislation.
Through all of this, my hope is that I’m instilling a few simple but powerful lessons: that being active in your community matters, that elections are not optional, and that human decency and compassion must guide us. I hope my kids learn to embrace differences and to see the beauty in unity, even when the world feels like it’s unraveling.
I won’t pretend we’ve figured it all out. Some days it’s hard to find hope in what feels like a hopeless time. But we will resist. We will keep showing up. And we will keep fighting for equality — for ourselves, for others, and even for those who see the world differently than we do.
