A not so Grimm fairy tale.

[demgurl]

I would love to educate my 4 & 5 year old about Bush and Kerry but felt that coming out and trying to explain the whole thing would be an exercise in futility. So, I thought perhaps I should expose them to the truth in a creative way.

They love to hear stories - as does every kid that age, and so I thought I could tell them a tale. Their father makes up tales that go on and on night after night. Wondrous adventures that keep both of our boys enthralled. I kind of thought of a way to start and wanted feedback and suggestions from you folks.

Here is how I wanted to tell the tale.

This is the tale of the evil Bu$h monster and the gallant knight, Sir Kerry.

Once up on a time, in a land not so far away, lived the evil Bu$h monster. He was so evil that all of the people of his country were scared by him - and those who weren't had been put under an evil spell to make them think he was really good.

The Bu$h monster was so evil that he would always pick on other people including those who were much weaker than him. There was one person called Saddam. The Bu$h monster was a big bully and like all big bullies, he decided Saddam was weak and could not defend himself and so the Bu$h monster decided to attack him.

Everyone told the Bu$h monster not to attack and that poor Saddam had done nothing wrong, but Bush was a monster and he went after anything and everything. Poor Saddam and everyone around him were attacked by the evil Bu$h monster. And the monster was so big that no one could stop him.....or could they?

There was a young brave knight called Sir Kerry. He was brave and fought in many battles. He had saved many people and they were quite grateful. He was determined to save those who lived in fear of the Bu$h monster. He was also determined to save those who had fallen under his spell and set them all free.

Anyway, that is about as far as I have gotten in my mind. I thought I would embellish a little as I went along, but I am not quite sure where to go from there. I am not a writer or story teller - you should hear my hubby! But I do want the little ones to know a little bit about what is going on - especially if any grown-up ever starts talking about Bu$h or Kerry around them! Maybe this is just an exercise in futility, but at least they will get an entertaining story out of it. And what little boys do not like stories about monsters and knights?

So, what do you all think? Like I said, I am not a professional in any way. I am just a Mom trying in some small way to educate and entertain her kids. Feedback anyone?

[Dragon Turtle]

1. Bu$h and Saddam should both be monsters.

Perhaps you should change Saddam to another monster who was also a bully but no longer strong/powerful.

[JHB]

4. Gotta agree there...

...Saddam really shouldn't be in a position of sympathy.

In fact, making Saddam a smaller monster might be a way to teach your kids about moral ambiguity and how to navigate it.

[demgurl]

5. I was trying to figure out how to handle that.

Things are never easy as a parent. Thanks for that tip.

[Rowdyboy]

2. Here's how I taught my 3 year old god-daughter, Katie, in 1986

We rented Stephen King's trilogy "Cat's Eye" one Friday night. Katie and I sat on the floor. The last story involved a little girl who was saved by a cat...I told Katie that the cat was a "Demo-cat" who saved the little girl. She was threatened by trolls in the walls; when their evil faces appeared,I said "Look, Katie-it's bad 'publicans!" She'd shreik and laugh, and snuggle into me.

Twenty years later, she's still a liberal Dem and it pisses off her conservative daddy to no end!

[demgurl]

3. Oooh I love that demo-cat idea!

I may do something like that as well. I do want to educate them, somehow, on what is happening right now. My oldest has just entered kindergarten and I want to ensure that if adults are around him and they say anything about Bu$h or Kerry, he will know that Bu$h is the evil one and to speak up for Kerry.

I do not want to go into stuff like Abu - even I am too young for some of that stuff. That would be more of a horror story than any other I can think of.

I do not want their first exposure to politics to be from someone else and who knows what they will say. It is like taking the first strike against smoking, drinking, sex, etc....I want them to know what is right and wrong in politics. Who wears the white hat and who wears the black.

I do like the other suggestion about Saddam being a former bully but being weak. I do think Saddam was a monster but Bu$h talked about mass graves that were never found and we tale over and 'liberate' the Iraqis and they get tortured by our people. So sad.