This week on the Prime Good Dads blog, we’re continuing our discussion of current events and politics. When it comes to current events, some topics, such as wars or political extremism, can become difficult or uncomfortable to talk about. How can you talk about these subjects with your kids?

Charles Smith has been working for Prime for a little over seven years. His kids are all grown, but he was able to provide insights for how to talk to kids at all ages. 

In addition, Amos Bridges, editor-in-chief at the Springfield News-Leader and a father to an 8-year-old girl, has tips for how to discuss current events to youngsters. 

We hope you glean some knowledge from their insights!

Learn to agree to disagree

Charles mentioned that when he discusses current events and politics with his kids, the conversations can get quite lively! He and his kids don’t always agree on everything, but they learn to agree to disagree to keep things civil. 

“We told our kids to look at things objectively and to make decisions for themselves,” Charles said. 

Charles was in the Army for six years, and his daughter has been in the Navy for 10 years. He explained to his daughter before she entered the Navy that, “you’re going to meet people that don’t agree with you: That’s life.” 

Charles stressed the importance of surrounding yourself with people with different viewpoints than your own.

“I frequently train people who do not agree with me politically or morally,” he said. “I treat my truck as a workspace. I tell my student as a trainer: Until you’re sure, avoid politics and religion. And that helps! Training to get a CDL, you’re spending a lot of time with them. Learn what they can and can’t talk about.

“One of my good friends is opposed to everything I agree with politically,” Charles continued. “He would take a round for me, and I don’t question that in the slightest. This time of the year, we avoid those touchy subjects. We can have a conversation about something we disagree on, but in the end, we’re family. 

“Teach people to treat each other with respect and dignity, and if you can do that, you can talk about just about everything,” he advised “Take the emotion out of it and agree to disagree”

Arm your kids with a decision-making framework

On the previous Prime Good Dads blog, we discussed the importance of getting information from reliable sources. Preparing them for the future is one reason why. 

“It’s not going to be too long before our kids are running things,” Amos said. “I was surprised by how quickly I became the adult. Arm them with information and the skills to find their own information and come to their own conclusions.”

The way Amos sees it, you can do everything in your power to prepare your kids for the future, but there are still going to be unpredictable factors. 

“We’re faced with things that we never even imagined,” Amos said. “ My parents and grandparents didn’t teach me how to deal with AI, social media, or the internet. A lot of the things they did teach me affected how I deal with those new problems.

“Talk with kids and arm them with that decision making framework,” He continued. “We can’t give them all the answers because we don’t know all the questions. Prepare them to find that information and make their own decisions.”

Embrace your kids’ questions and curiosities

“I taught my kids to ask questions,” Charles said. Almost all of his kids were school age when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. 

“We watched the plane hit the second tower as the kids were getting ready for school,” he recalled. Charles said he remembers thinking “the world just changed.” 

“Life things still happened… (but) the world stopped for a minute, and now it’s trying to get back.”

Today’s current events are tomorrow’s history. While it might be difficult at first, talking with your kids about these tough topics helps ensure a line of trust is built. 

Amos said that “kids surprise you with the questions they ask. (Children)  know about whatever is in the news that day because she asks about it. They hear about things from their friends or in school.”

Amos said that while he’s not “force feeding (his daughter) the day’s headlines,” he still addresses the questions she has and embraces curiosity. 

Stand your ground while showing respect for others

“I taught my kids to speak their mind young,” Charles said, “and that’s made them better adults. They’re understanding that dad wasn’t wrong about everything.”

Charles mentioned one of his children likes to have conversations about politics, even though they have completely different points of view.

“Sometimes my daughter calls me to argue with me and it’s okay,” he said. “Sometimes we’ve walked away from those conversations.”

Charles says that it’s important to let your kids know that “I still love you–at the end of the day what’s really important is that we’re family.”

“Have those conversations, sometimes,” he continued. “At the beginning and end of the conversations, we’ll have to see each other, so be nice and stand your ground.”

Keep things straightforward but simple

Amos said that being “straightforward but simple” with kids about current events and politics is important. 

“Your kids aren’t going to agree with you on everything.” Amos said. “If you’re clear about how you got to your decision on one of your positions, then there’s a lot less chance of them misunderstanding something or assuming that you are making a wrong decision if they don’t understand how they go there.”

Amos doesn’t find it particularly challenging to discuss complex topics with his child, but he still does so carefully. 

“I think that it’s important to think through those topics yourself, so what you’re conveying to your child is understandable, but also has some nuance. Provide them with those building blocks for making future decisions.”

Keep lines of communication open

Readers of the Prime Good Dads blog know that keeping the lines of communication open to your kids is one of the most important things you can do as a truck driving parent. This includes discussions on topics that might be difficult. 

“My parents weren’t good at communicating those kinds of things,” Charles admitted. With his family, it’s a different story. He says that one of the benefits of having adult children is that he “can have conversations with them that I couldn’t have when they were younger.” 

“If you look back at it, we talk a lot.” Charles said. “We want to have those conversations. Phrasing it the right way was a challenge, but the kids wanted to know and I wanted to be able to explain (difficult subjects) to them.”

Final Words

“It’s interesting raising kids,” Amos said. “You are feeding them info and they put things together that you don’t expect. I don’t want or need a clone. It’s fascinating when my daughter says something out of left field or has an idea.”

Amos said that when it comes to being a dad, he loves “bringing these unique people in the world and watching them put things together.”

Charles’ children are grown, and he has experience having children grow up with differing political opinions. “As Americans, one of our great freedoms is being able to disagree while still being Americans.” 

When it comes to difficult conversations about current events and politics with our families, remembering that sentiment can come in handy.