Ella on Election 2008 from Jennifer Woodbury on Vimeo.
As this year's election has approached, I have been casually making Ella aware of who the presidential candidates are. I haven't displayed any bias towards a particular candidate, because I don't think three-year-olds need to be concerned about the intricacies of tax policy or partisan politics, I've just pointed them out to her whenever the opportunity presented itself. I wasn't sure how much of this was sinking in, but over the past couple of days it has become clear that Ella definitely has politics on the brain. Three examples:
1) When I brush Ella's teeth at night, I will often pretend that I see certain characters hiding in her mouth that I need to get out with the toothbrush. I think this is a common strategy among parents to make the brushing process more interesting for kids. Sometimes, in order to prolong the brushing of her teeth (and therefore delay bedtime), Ella will point out the people in her mouth that I missed. On Monday night, she said the following:
"Look! I have John McCain in my mouth!"
2) Last night, as I was heating up some baby food, I asked Ella to keep Claire company at the dining room table (Claire gets upset when I leave her sight, especially when she is waiting for food). As I was in the kitchen, I heard Claire start to fuss and in an attempt to calm her down Ella reached for a nearby newspaper and said:
"Here Claire, do you want to see Barack Obama? Let me show you Barack Obama."
3) While looking at the cover of this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, featuring Daniel Craig (aka James Bond), Ella asked:
"Mom, is that John McCain?"
And just in case you get the wrong impression that Ella is extremely politically savvy for her age, the two times I have asked her exactly who Barack Obama and John McCain are, she has given me the same answer:
"Twins."
Happy Election Day!