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Original poster

How are your older teen/young adult children reacting to the election?

333 replies

BertrandRussell · 13/12/2019 13:42

My 18 year old is incredibly upset- it was his first opportunity to vote and he feel very let down by Corbyn.

OP posts:
JohnMcCainsDeathStare · 14/12/2019 11:40

If I get a fellowship I'll have to stick it out for another 5 years but TBH I am done with this country - I'll be cultivating my contacts in Sweden and France - getting the DCs to learn modern languages as wel.

JacquesHammer · 14/12/2019 11:43

Dd17 is relieved that she can stay at her private school with no prohibitive fee increase

She’s 17 and she thought there’d be a prohibitive fee increase implemented before she left....?

mbosnz · 14/12/2019 11:48

Being politically engaged is good. Being able to dig in and ride out the bad times is good too. Being prepared to do all one can to make a positive difference in a bad situation is truly admirable.

Shit happens. Sometimes it happens to you. Grab a bloody shovel and start shifting it.

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18 years old
PresidentBartlett · 14/12/2019 11:53

Not my kids but the 6 formers I teach were gutted and angry in equal measures yesterday. They feel so let down by their parent and grandparents generation and I can't blame them.

AutumnRose1 · 14/12/2019 11:56

I’m curious. The under 18s who are so upset, who would they have voted for? I don’t want to make more assumptions Wink

Logjam · 14/12/2019 12:08

Most of dd's friends are Tories (no surprise we live in a Tory safe seat). Apparently one friend spent the day going on a length how happy she was that her father wouldn't be taxed to the hilt. Dd said it took all her strength not to bite back - she felt her friend was being deliberately goady - mind you the friend usually irritates her anyway, roll on the end of sixth form.

ColdTattyWaitingForSummer · 14/12/2019 12:22

@AutumnRose1 I think ds(17) would probably have voted SNP or labour. His politics definitely fall to the left of centre. He also said in the past he would have voted against an independent Scotland (we’re both English by birth, but have lived here most of his life) but would likely now vote for independence. In terms of “leaving the country” he’s just applied for uni, a variety of law / international relations degrees, and after the result is leaning much more towards something that would allow him to practice abroad.

MyNewHairdryer · 14/12/2019 12:31

A lot of you seem to have very dramatic DCs 🙄

SilverySurfer · 14/12/2019 13:47

angry, sad and incredibly disappointed

These are reasonable responses. To those who say their children are 'devastated' I don't think you have a clue what the word means. Earthquakes and tsunamis are devastating, your party not winning an election is not.

The poor things need to toughen up somewhat before they go out into the big wide world.

Original poster
BertrandRussell · 14/12/2019 14:45

“ Most of dd's friends are Tories (no surprise we live in a Tory safe seat)”

So do we. And in the country. And in a wholly grammar school area. And an area with lots of private schools. Most of ds’s friends are still Labour or Green voters...

OP posts:
Trewser · 14/12/2019 14:46

Most of dd's friends are Tories (no surprise we live in a Tory safe seat)

Pretty much everyone now lives in a tory safe seat Grin

YouJustDoYou · 14/12/2019 14:52

Pretty much everyone now lives in a tory safe seat

This.

My younger cousins don't remember what happened when Labour were in power last time, and have wholly involved themselves in the propaganda spouted at them about "for the many not for the few" without any concept of what secure implementation means, or the fact it was a decade's length of promise all this free stuff was based on so no one would've seen anything happen in any immediacy anyway. They're not aggressive people though so haven't gone down the verbally nasty route but it has been a shock of a lesson for them in democracy and having to swallow down results they didn't vote for.

CendrillonSings · 14/12/2019 15:00

have wholly involved themselves in the propaganda spouted at them about "for the many not for the few" without any concept of what secure implementation means

It’s pretty funny that Labour turned out to be the party of “the few” in this election! Grin

Blueshadow · 14/12/2019 15:00

My dd’s Private school friends were interestingly evenly split politically. She would have voted green if she could.

FamilyOfAliens · 14/12/2019 15:38

OP, I agree with you about the sarcastic comments directed towards young people.

When the phrase “OK, boomer” came out I argued with my young adult DC that most people of my age were supportive of young people and didn’t talk down to them or with an air of superiority as if they had never been young and passionate about something themselves.

Judging by this thread, how wrong I was!

Ontopofthesunset · 14/12/2019 15:41

Both my sons (18 year old voting for the first time and 21 year old who has voted a few times now, but turned 18 just after the referendum) are very disappointed and angry. They are angry with FPTP and what they consider to be blatantly undemocratic outcomes; you only need to look at the one Green MP returned for 800,000 odd-votes, the underepresentation of LibDem MPs and overrepresentation of SNP MPs by voter numbers to see why they feel like this. More people voted for Remain/second referendum parties than voted Tory. They are baffled that so many people have voted for a party that, in my sons' opinions, will make those people worse off and has been doing so for several years - cuts to all public services, underfunding of education and health. They are also disappointed by the right wing media bias and how many people appear to not care or realise that Johnson is a populist liar and like Trump just says what people want to hear. They are extremely upset that Brexit will now definitely happen and worried about what that means. So lots of politically engaged young people feel like this, without being raging Corbynista's or thinking there was a particularly good alternative.

BerwickLad · 14/12/2019 16:03

@FamilyOfAliens I'm sure the young people themselves are fine. It's the older adults and their sanctimonious reporting of the young people who are the divots.

RaiseaGlasstoFreedom · 14/12/2019 16:10

Bertrand, it's really good for young people to mix with all sorts of people. Having a narrow set of friends who all of them share the same views is unhealthy.

Are there any clubs or out of school activities he could join to widen his friendship group?

My new hair dryer, when we've had parents screaming and wailing in playgrounds '' you've killed my children '' after brexit vote what do you expect the dc to turn out like Grin

RaiseaGlasstoFreedom · 14/12/2019 16:14

On top, by the same token lots of politically engaged youngsters also realise the unicorn money tree labour pushed didn't exist, and that generally everyone would be poorer under labour. The UK would grind to a holt in paralysis. The ones I heard also hated the anti sematism and understood the importance of not allowing in a party with such a shady record on it.

Original poster
BertrandRussell · 14/12/2019 16:19

“ Bertrand, it's really good for young people to mix with all sorts of people. Having a narrow set of friends who all of them share the same views is unhealthy.”
Grin He’s 18- his friendships are his own business. Let’s hope you are giving the same advice to the posters saying all their children’s friends are Conservatives!

OP posts:
FamilyOfAliens · 14/12/2019 17:39

@BerwickLad

I agree with you - I think the young people are fine. I just think it’s a shame when older people drive a wedge between the generations by putting down young people’s views and feelings in such an unpleasant and unnecessary way.

BlaueLagune · 14/12/2019 17:45

We're about to have a two tier system where, if you can find an EU passport down the back of the sofa you will be fine and won't lose out on the opportunities.

For everyone else, there will be a few crumbs like 90 day stays.

If you are a medic/allied professions there are obviously other opportunities open to you, and I guess certain sought-after STEM skills but for everyone else, they'll be stuck in the UK working in whatever roles are available here, but with very few chances to live and work overseas.

And please don't just say "well tell your dc to do a science degree" - many of us simply don't have the aptitude to do science, but could have worked overseas in teaching or business or law or just as a ski instructor or lifeguard!

Trewser · 14/12/2019 18:12

Of course the young people are fine, and angsting over politics is what they do. I can understand concern over Brexit. But some of these posts from the parents are really nauseating.

Trewser · 14/12/2019 18:13

You will still be able to be a ski instructor after Brexit.

orcaaa · 14/12/2019 18:31

My 3 year old is planning to emigrate as soon as she graduates from nursery.

The 1 year old appreciates people have different views but has explained to me why I’m wrong and she’s right and now I see the error of my ways and have apologised to a homeless person who was begging outside the polling stations.