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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think an eight year old child should know who the Prime Minister is?

154 replies

Proudnscary · 31/10/2011 07:34

My (lovely and intelligent) niece didn't know. She also didn't know who the President of Yanksville was. I think it matters even if David Cameron is a foppish twat of the highest order and Obama is all style and little substance.

I think (especially in this world of X Factor et al) dc should be be educated in the very basics of politics even if it's just identifying world rulers and broadly what they stand for.

OP posts:

CurrySpice · 31/10/2011 11:05

tulip You find Tony Blair hard to remember?! Really? He was PM for 10 years!! He didn't stand out? I am aghast!!

Gordon Brown was PM for 3½ years - I think that's long enough to get a grip on a name! :o

CurrySpice · 31/10/2011 11:06

Are you Dutch btw tulip? My DP tells me about Dutch politics and it seems much more complex / fast changing than it is here!

Lakota · 31/10/2011 11:07

I just asked DS1, who is 6. He ummed and aahed and then said George Cameron. I told him he had the surname right, he had another think and came up with David. So he does know, he was interested at the time of the election that we had a new Prime Minister, but he didn't retain the information at the forefront of his mind - I'd say that was fairly normal.

Hardgoing · 31/10/2011 11:08

I would be very concerned if at 16, my children didn't know who the Prime Minister was.

I am not concerned at 6 and nearly 8, although it's interesting they know lots more about the monarchy than politics.

Even if we were discussing closures to libraries or going to vote, they may not know the names.

I don't think this is weird, or that 8 is the right time to try and get them interested in Westminster (though local issues and ethical debates, yes).

tulipgrower · 31/10/2011 11:09

I know the former UK PMs. i am unable to forget Blairs cheesy grin. ;) But I'm not 8 yrs old.

FootprintsOnTheMoon · 31/10/2011 11:09

Well, my eight year old does not read or watch the news - thanks to being able to trust the journalists to never leave a sordid stone unturned whenever there is any kind of crime to be reported (do you really want your kids to hear "XXX pleaded not guilty to murder, but said that he had merely had sexual intercourse with the corpse of his former girlfriend when he found her dead" as was sprung upon me one day driving along listening to the radio with the kids in the back)?

Me and her Dad wouldn't discuss the prime ministers name really - we'd be more likely to talk about specific political issues rather than political personalities.

dottynosleep · 31/10/2011 11:12

I think dd1 (11 in a week) is pretty good with general knowledge/current affairs, she's interested/reads the paper/listens to news etc & I just asked her - she got David Cameron & knew there was 'an alliance' government with Nick Clegg & she knew Obama but the thought Clegg was a Tory & Cameron Labour!

(I think YANBU btw)

catgirl1976 · 31/10/2011 11:17

Is there no equivalent programme to "NewsRound" these days? That actually might make a big difference and is probably where I got a lot of general knowledge about current affairs and the world around me from as a child.

If there isn't there should be. Can understand footprints concern about the content of the "adult" news, but John Craven a great idea.

tulipgrower · 31/10/2011 11:18

Not Dutch, but have lived and voted there. And yes, it changes fast there. And there are so many different parties. I'm in Germany, our lady in charge is politically bland, always looking for a peaceful compromise and has a very quiet private life. She is memorable primarily because she is female, (which we've never had before). Our president hasn't been in the job long, and he's not as visible as the chancellor anyway, even if he is the head of state.

curry - I basically agree with you. Kids should be taught the basics of politics like any other subject.

startail · 31/10/2011 11:21

My two 13 and 10 do, but probably only because DD1 met him quite by chance.

WilsonFrickett · 31/10/2011 11:29

Em, yeah Catgirl - Newsround is still on! Although I think John Craven has been retired...

SpookhettiTwirlerAndProud · 31/10/2011 11:32

My mum didnt't know until a few weeks ago. She thought it was still tony blair! And she's a lot older than 8yo. . . .

ChippingInAutumnLover · 31/10/2011 11:40

SOH - love this.>>She does think the capital of England is E though At 4, I'd be happy with that :)

catgirl1976 · 31/10/2011 11:45

Well if neswround is still on there is no excuse :) although I did assume John Craven wouldn't be fronting it!

GothAnneGeddes · 31/10/2011 11:45

I knew at 8, because I was interested in the news. My little sister at a similar age probably didn't, because she wasn't.

In contrast, DH knew who the president was of his country from the moment he went to school, because they had to praise him every morning and his picture was in every classroom. They also had to regularly go on marches cheering him and shouting slogans in support of him. Any children who mistakenly said what their parents actually thought of the president or his party would suddenly not be at the school anymore. Ditto teachers.

YABU, one of the gifts of childhood is being able to be unaware of wordly matters, plenty of time for political awareness when she's a bit older.

howlingheadlessmunsters · 31/10/2011 11:54

Ds age 7 knows Barack Obama is US president because they covered it in school. He will refer to David Cameron as our president. He will also tell you Anonymous is 'Head of the village' because he comperes the village panto!

SuckItAndSee · 31/10/2011 12:01

dd1 (4.6) knows - I've just checked.
we spoke about it at the last election, and she's got a great memory. she also said "he is very silly, because he wants to give the rich people more money, and the poor people less, and that's all back to front"
no doubt when she escapes the sphere of my influence she will become some sort of fox-hunting hooray in a Barbour and velvet Alice band.

Vicky2011 · 31/10/2011 12:05

Had a mini quiz with DS (7) this morning, I asked who the PM was and he looked at me horrified at said, "um, its David Cameron of course, why are you asking me such easy questions?
Well and truly put in my place I asked about the US Pres, he got that right, and the DPM and Chancellor - I then asked him about the French Pres and German Chancellor and he got Sarkozy but failed on Merkel (just saying "I think it's a woman but can't remember her name)
I was a bit surprised that DS seemed to have picked up so much from watching the news with me occasionally but I am equally surprised that an 8 yr old couldn't name the Prime Minister.

I also think some people have good brains for "facts" and others are better at "understanding" things. DS and I are good at random, mostly useless facts, but DH is much better at how things actually work. So maybe the little girl in the OP is the same.

LondonMumsie · 31/10/2011 12:18

Just checked. My eight-year-old knew David Cameron. He didn't get Obama, but realised he should have known it when I said the name.

Seraphina1 · 31/10/2011 12:34

Difficult question,

If an 8yo kid from a politically savvy family who read newspapers and readily "discuss" things round the table did'nt then know I would be worried if he/she hadnt picked up this info. If you had paid for or fought to get your child into a school which was known for academic excellence then you would be justified in being somewhat surprised.

Mind you, i fell down some stairs on a night out at May BH this year (I was "tired and emotional" ) and banged my head. In A and E they asked me who the PM was..I said "John Major"

My DSC's lack of cultural knowledge astonishes me..At 12 the eldest did not know who elvis or marilyn monroe was. I thought that was bad..

OriginalGhoster · 31/10/2011 12:35

Aren't children meant to be naturally curious? Ours ask questions, which lead to discussions about what's happening in the world. Like how does grandma have money if she doesn't work, why are library books free, why are those people rioting, why is my teacher on strike, what happens if you lose your job, what is a terrorist etc. A lot of those would come up even if you didn't let them watch the news or read the paper. Do the posters who think children shouldn't know about politics just ignore those questions? Personally I'd rather let them watch the news than watch Eastenders or Corrie, (which to the untrained eye just looks like bunch of people screaming at each other and having affairs).

We do eat together every night and if there's something going in the news we might well talk about it at the table. My 9 year old asked his uncle what he thought of David Cameron's leadership, which he thought was very funny (he doesn't have dcs). My 12 year old has just read 1984 and animal farm and is talking about why communism won't work. She also was concerned about benefits cuts after watching a programme on it.

Ours got a lot more interested in the news when we had a newsworthy event here which meant our town was on blanket news coverage for 3 days. Gordon Brown and some of the Royals came, so they got a good chance to see them and realise that the news was actually real and about things that matter to them.

I am wondering if kids tv, computer games etc, makes them less likely to watch 'adult' programmes, to gain general knowledge from. When we were kids there was less choice and you were likely to watch whatever your parents were watching.

When they get home I will be quizzing mine to find out what they know.

grovel · 31/10/2011 12:42

The Simpsons is a fantastic source of general knowledge for kids.

zukiecat · 31/10/2011 12:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BlancheIngram · 31/10/2011 12:53

I hope my 9yo would know the answer - he does read the Guardian, and we always have the Today programme on at breakfast - but I know that he has some understanding of capitalism and the boom/bust cycle, the effect of the financial crisis on local services he uses, the funding of the NHS and schools, and, probably more importantly, why the poorest countries in the world have more natural resources than the richest, how climate change works and why it affects some places more than others, why there is a NATO presence in Afghanistan etc. etc., all of which seems to me more important at his age and probably later than being able to name UK politicians. Understanding the systems matters more than memorising facts, though it may be ideal to do both.

TeWihara · 31/10/2011 12:53

I remember being most miffed that John Major lost to Tony Blair when I was 10 - I didn't remember anyone else having been PM and I didn't remember him doing anything 'bad' so didn't see why he had to lose his job (!) We were a household that was news obsessed. Several papers a day, lots of news watching + discussion.

From that election onwards I was very switched on and politically interested - I would think the OP's niece was too young to be interested at the last election but will be more able to follow the situation at the next one.

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