PORTLAND, Ore. — "I think my parents may be stressed.”
Emmett, a Lincoln High School student, walking with a friend in downtown Portland during their lunch break, said he heard that the fate of America could come down to who is elected.
Psychiatrists said the election is taking a toll not only on adults, but also children who are dealing with second-hand stress from their parents and other adults in their lives.
“Sometimes, I just walk away,” Emmett said. “If I want to express my own opinion, I can't have them stressed out in front of me.”
Psychiatrists, like Dr. Amy King, say with adults crumbling under the pressure of a close election, kids are mirroring their parents’ emotions, and younger children are especially vulnerable.
“When they sense tension, and when they sense you are overwhelmed, and when they see you are frenetic or worried about things, they take that on,” she explained.
Doctors recommend keeping things as routine as possible at home while election results come in this week, such as continuing with your typical playtimes, bathtime and bedtime.
King said if children have questions about why people are upset, answer them.
“The election brings up lots of big feelings for the adults in our lives,” she said, giving an example of what an adult might tell a child. “If you notice I get animated, or your dad or mom gets animated, just know that's part of adults having big feelings.”
King said the most important lesson is children shouldn't have to manage adults’ emotions; adults should manage adult emotions.
Multnomah County Suicide Prevention Coordinator Canada Taylor Parker agrees; she said the highly contested election is a good time to create a learning moment for kids.
“I really think this is a good time for teens to develop some radical empathy for the complexity of emotions people are expressing right now,” Taylor Parker said, “and that's not all of who they are.”
Both Taylor Parker and King recommend modeling "critical thinking" to demonstrate how to be good citizens.
“I think a lot of youth are really invested right now,” Taylor Parker said. “They're invested in mental health, they're invested in the climate, they're figuring out their voices matter.”