“What are those signs with the crowns, Mama?” my five-year-old daughter asked as we drove to school the other day.
I took a deep breath and paused the “K-Pop Demon Hunters” soundtrack we’ve had on repeat for the last six months (honestly, every song’s a bop). Then I answered as best I could. I gave her some basic facts, like the president’s name, and then offered my own explanation of what the protest meant, knowing full well that if she asked someone else, she’d likely hear something very different.
In that quick moment, I was overwhelmed by the weight of deciding what she needed to hear and what she didn’t. It felt like my responsibility to define our family’s values in relation to the protest and to shape that into something a five-year-old could understand. In the end, my explanation stayed at a high level (no heavy details, no policy specifics), just focusing on kindness, fairness and recognizing that not everyone is being treated that way right now.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by politics these days, no matter your stance. But I strongly believe that parenting itself is political. The policies and laws being made today will impact our children and their children for years to come.
Beyond that, the choices we make as parents matter just as much. They shape how our kids will navigate the world: whether they’ll step in to help someone in need, whether they’ll speak up for someone who can’t speak for themselves, whether they’ll truly understand what it means to stand up for others (a concept my daughter initially took very literally, “I’m too tired to stand on my feet all the time!”).
It’s our job as parents in 2026 to raise children with emotional intelligence, to help them feel empathy without becoming overwhelmed by it. To teach them how to turn those feelings into actions that improve the world around them. To equip them with the ability to tell fact from fiction.
It’s our job as parents in 2026 to teach them to stand firm in those values when challenged, whether by people in power or in everyday life.
And above all, it’s our job as parents in 2026 to model compassion and patience: to show them how to sit with uncertainty, to approach difficult situations with curiosity rather than judgment, and to evaluate people by their actions rather than their affiliations.
And maybe, just maybe, if we, as exhausted, burnt-out parents, are even slightly successful, we’ll raise children who will help build a kinder future.
– Jenna Hunsinger is Co-Director of Advertising and Digital Manager at the Addison Independent (She also happens to be a Justice of the Peace in Ripton and wife of the Vermont Progressive Party Chair)
Do you have a story to share about life with young kids in Addison County? We’d love to hear from you! Email [email protected].