With Trump-Harris debate over and Election Day looming, here's how to talk about politics with your kids

These days, children at ever-younger ages are joining political conversations, and many are wondering, and worrying, about where the country is heading.

Tomorrow night, perhaps, it’s time to return to history. Talk with your children about what it means to be an American.  Jared Cohen is a New York Times bestselling author. His latest book is "Speaking of America: United States Presidents and the Words that Changed History" (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, September 10, 2024). He is also the President of Global Affairs at Goldman Sachs.

What does it mean to be an American? Thomas Jefferson called the Declaration of Independence an "expression of the American mind," but in 1776, there was little consensus. Around one-fifth of Americans were Loyalists, and many left for Canada. Many were skeptical of "unalienable rights." They asked where do rights come from? What does it mean to believe that all human beings are created equal? Today, debates continue about America as an idea and as a nation, and about what the Founding meant.