A Child's Perspective on the 3rd Presidential Debate

The kids stayed up with me to watch the final Presidential debate again tonight (we tried to watch the 2nd debate, but it devolved so quickly into petty bickering that we couldn't force ourselves to sit through it), and as I'm sure there are many (like me) who are still undecided about this election, I thought you might be interested to hear the kids' thoughts...

 

8-year-old: Decided three-quarters of the way through the debate that they were giving her a headache, and this wasn't worth staying up past bedtime for. She went to bed.

 

10-year-old: "I don’t get politics. That’s what I learned. They’re annoying, and I didn’t understand anything they said. I also learned that when you pause the TV, Mitt Romney always has a weird expression on his face."

 

12-year-old: "Mitt Romney contradicts himself on accident, because he tries to say something, but he confuses himself, I think. Barak Obama expects our country to be perfect, and he wants it to be the best. He expects us to have the best education, even though a lot of the people in our country aren’t really trying. He said in his closing statement that 'it would be good to have the strongest military,' but it’s kind of hard to be the best. I also learned that they made two-year-olds look mature!"

 

14-year-old: They both really like talking about the economy. 'What about foreign policy?' 'Well, let’s talk about the economy. Let’s talk about jobs.' It was annoying. Mitt Romney probably doesn’t have a plan. He’s just making it up as he goes along. Because he keeps saying 'I know how to do this. I’m keeping it a secret, but I know what I’m doing, just leave it to me.'"

 

When I asked the kids who they would vote for, only the ten-year-old had an answer. (She would vote for Obama, because he didn't say he would cancel PBS in the first debate.) This debate was no more successful than the first Presidential debate in convincing the children to support one candidate over the other.

A Child's View of the 1st Presidential Debate

I let my kids stay up to watch the Presidential debate with me tonight, because the 12-year-old had to take notes for her social studies homework, and it didn't seem fair to make the others go to bed in the middle of it if I was letting her stay up past bedtime.

Let's just say that a Presidential debate is a much different event when viewed through the eyes of a child. Forget about those boring Medicare and Social Security questions. Here is what I learned about our choices in this election (with the help of my children, ages 8, 10, 12 & 14):

Mitt Romney:
    * Likes Big Bird, but he wants to get rid of PBS anyway. ("What if he tries to cancel the Disney Channel next???")
    * Wants to help the "poor kids" get an education
    * Didn't do his homework, because he kept talking about changing things to be just the way they already are.


President Obama:
   * Really wants Obamacare
   * Thinks Romney is wrong
   * Likes to point out that Romney is wrong by twisting Romney's words around
   * Was really hard to understand


Both candidates:
   * Don't know how to follow the rules of a debate
   * Are hypocrites - they kept getting upset at each other for interrupting, even though they were both interrupting each other all the time.


The official Bartles kids' poll coming out of this debate:
  * 8-year-old would vote for Obama, "because I'm used to him."
  * 10-year-old would vote for Obama "because I like PBS"
  * 12-year-old would kick them both out because they don't know how to follow rules
   * 14-year-old is still undecided

Book Review: STIR IT UP by Ramin Ganeshram

STIR IT UP by Ramin Ganeshram is more than just a fun story. It's also a great cookbook, containing delicious recipes for the Indian cuisine that serves as a backdrop for the novel.

Anjali Krishnan is passionate about cooking.   Working in her family’s roti shop in Queens, she experiments with recipes that combine her Trinidadian culture and family traditions with the influences of the multicultural world she lives in.  Though her parents hope Anjali will make the family proud by gaining admittance into the exclusive Stuyvesant high school, she has other plans.  Anjali dreams of attending a public school, where she can participate in C-CAP, a culinary arts study program, and ultimately becoming a famous chef with her very own Food Network TV show. 

When a contest for young chefs promises a chance at her dreams, Anjali knows she’s destined for greatness.  Unfortunately, the contest tryouts are the same day as the Stuyvesant entrance exam, and Anjali’s parents insist that her studies must come before her hobby.   Taking a chance at her dream means defying her parents and her family traditions, but Anjali can’t let the chance of a lifetime slip away. 

Chock full of real (and delectable) recipes, this novel is a treat for the mind as well as the taste buds.  The chicken curry recipe has become a family favorite, and it's super easy! (We've used variations of the recipe as the basis for many, many family dinners, since we read the book a few months ago.) I recommend this book for anyone who loves cooking, and anyone who has ever had to make difficult choices when following their dreams.