Political divides in families are becoming so frequent that one psychiatrist is now offering guidelines for parents who fear their children have been led astray by outsiders with an agenda.
“Parents are losing their teens these days — not only to drugs, violence and suicide — but to the influence of teachers, peers and social media pushing political agendas,” said Dr. Carole Lieberman, a board-certified psychiatrist based in Beverly Hills, California.
“Adolescence is a time when kids normally rebel against their parents as part of their becoming independent adults. So, when teachers influence kids’ political beliefs and their classmates and social media urge them to be cool and shame their parents for their differing political beliefs, they say, ’Hell, yeah. Where do I sign up?’ “she said.
It was not always this way. In 2005, a Gallup poll offered insight.
“While a fifth of U.S. teens (21%) say they are ’more liberal’ than their parents and 7% say ’more conservative,’ 7 in 10 teens (71%) say their social and political ideology is about the same as mom and dad’s,” the pollster reported at the time.
By 2015, a comprehensive Stanford University study of the political leanings of parents and children revealed that 54% of U.S. children over the age of 16 either completely rejected their parents’ political beliefs or incorrectly identified them.
The situation appears to have intensified even further six years later.
Dr. Lieberman now offers formal guidelines to determine if a child is getting “too much political influence” from outside the family.
“Watch for changes in their dress, friends and attitude — taking particular note if the older child or teen appears more defiant and aggressive,” she told The Washington Times.
Politically swayed children also appear “obsessed” with joining protests, and openly criticize the parent’s personal political beliefs, often in irrational ways. Dr. Lieberman also said the politicized teens share newfound ideas on social media — “beliefs that seem foreign” and unfamiliar.
Loyalty to teachers, friends and other influencers takes precedence over that of mom, dad or guardian.
“It’s one thing for children to develop ideas that are different than yours if they can back them up. But if they seem to simply have shifted their loyalty to teachers and friends who have opposing ideas, to seem cool or radical, you should be concerned,” Dr. Lieberman said.
“The key is to keep a close relationship with your kids so that they know they can discuss a variety of issues with you and share opinions without it getting into an argument,” she added.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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