3 mins read

Hooking Kids on Presidential Politics

I live in Washington, DC, where sightings and even conversations with politicians such as Hillary Clinton and President Obama are common. Maybe as a result, my three teenagers keep an eye on presidential campaigning. Even six months before the first caucus. My 16-year-old daughter has been excited, literally for years, that she will turn 18…

2 mins read

Birthday Party Politics

Kiddo birthday parties are a landmine. Throwing a kid’s birthday party is high-risk behavior in the department of offending or excluding people. Clearly, no one intends to exclude kids from birthday party fun, but unless your party planning involves inviting every cousin, classmate and neighbor, there is no way around it.

4 mins read

Playground Politics

Two weeks ago, I happened to call an old friend who lives in Ohio, with whom I speak once a year or so. Before I could even ask how the kids were, my friend launched into a fiery political diatribe that caught me by surprise.

5 mins read

TV Characters are Getting Into Politics

In the recent documentary Miss Representation — which criticized American culture and the media for its negative impact on women and girls — child advocate Marian Wright Edelman lamented the scarcity of American women politicians saying that, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”