The debate over whether political candidates should have their kids out with them on the campaign trail has been raging so long and hard that it seems we've all forgotten about another set of kids a bit closer to home. I'm talking about your kids, Mom and Dad. You know, the ones currently terrorizing your home as you count down the days until the winter break is over?
Have you bothered to ask them what they think about the people vying for the top spot in the nation yet? If you don't think it matters, a dad named Darren Garnick and his 9-year-old son, Ari Garnick, might just change your mind.
The elder Garnick is a documentary writer and producer who took 9-year-old Ari and a video camera out on the campaign trail. There he let the boy ask his own questions of the candidates. What the kid came up with was classic 9-year-old boy. He wanted to know who Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and even Herman Cain, would say is their favorite superhero (Ron Paul allegedly walked off).
Political wonks are having a field day with their answers, but it's the question itself that speaks volumes. Because unlike the parents who coach and manipulate their kids into trapping politicians on camera, Darren Garnick let Ari take the lead. In doing so, he got a cool little documentary out of the deal, but he also got to see what's really on his child's mind.
It's easy to say that because kids can't vote, they don't matter come election time. But we, their parents, do vote. And I have to admit I usually do it with my daughter in mind. I want to know where a candidate stands on issues that affect her now (think education) but also how their choices could affect her down the line (just about every major issue). So why wouldn't I ask her what's on her mind, what she thinks candidates should tell her?
She may come up with something silly. And that's OK. She's 6. She's allowed her flights of fancy. And they may just give me new insight into my daughter and what she's into at the moment. As much as I try to keep track, at this age, things change so quickly that a kid who's a Bieber fan in the morning will be telling her dorky mom that he's sooooo not her thing by dinner. I'm sure some teacher along the way told me that if I don't ask, I won't know.
On the other hand, she might wow me. If I've learned anything as I take my scythe and try to hack through the parenting jungle, it's that my kid is often more astute than I am prepared for. Maybe that's the reason I haven't asked her, but that's about to change.
What my kid would ask a politician might not matter to the whole world, but it's the question that should matter to me.
How about you? Watch Ari Garnick take on the candidates in his dad's video and tell us what you'll be asking your kids tonight:
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Image via YouTube