Long before Election Day, experts speculated about the long-term ramifications that the tumultuous and unusually nasty campaign would have on children and adolescents.
“Language and rhetoric, unquestionably, have a really important effect on children,” says Dr. Barbara Greenberg, a clinical psychologist who specializes in adolescents, children, teens and families. “Observational learning — watching what other people do and say — is the most effective kind of learning.” Saturation coverage of this campaign, particularly hours and hours of Trump rallies, certainly offered ample opportunity for observational learning.
On election night, Yahoo News hosted the children of staff members and guests, asking them to color in a map of the United States in real time, as results came in and as Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric led the team coverage of the race. The kids, ranging in age from 4 to 14, used red or blue chalk to color states, depending on the party of the candidate who won each state.
Early in the night, the children relaxed in the studio, listening to popular music and practicing breakdancing moves. They cheered and clamored for the blue chalk when New York and Illinois were called for Clinton at 9 p.m., but groaned when Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were called in favor of Trump.
“You can tell we all pretty much like Hillary Clinton,” one preteen girl said, but there were some Trump enthusiasts. One little girl joked, to a Hillary supporter, that she was afraid of getting cooties from her.
As the night progressed, the tone shifted from cautious optimism to anxiety. Even the youngest children in the group agreed that the campaign had been hard to watch and unusually negative. Several children expressed concern about hate speech and bullying, and worried about tense relations with world leaders under a President Trump. They all agreed that they would not speak to anyone in the tone the candidates used to each other throughout the campaign.
Yahoo News
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