How should a parent with strong political opinions talk to their child about their views? If you listen to the pollsters, you're not alone: all but a narrow slice of America has strong political views these days. But whether you choose to share your views with your daughter is less of a decision than you might think, according to Dr. Danny Axsom, associate professor of psychology at Virginia Tech. 'She'll probably know about [ your political views ] anyway simply by being around you, whether you tell her explicitly or not,' says Axsom. This is the nature of the child-parent relationship even very young children are typically astute enough to pick up on body language and voice inflections——anything that offers clues about what their parents think and feel. That doesn't mean, however, that it's unnecessary to talk explicitly about politics and it doesn't mean you should schedule a political lecture series instead of reading 'Goodnight Moon' to your three-year-old. What it does mean is that when your child asks you about politics, answer. Usually around school age, children will naturally start to ask questions about topics that are in the news, such as the presidential debates. Some of their class work or activities may even center on politics. Many schools conduct straw polls on the presidential race and preschoolers have even been known to learn about voting with matters that hit close to home (i. e. what's better strawberry or grape jelly?) Of course, this is good. We all want our children to understand how America's political system works so that some day they'11 be an active part of it. But them's something even better to be gained, says Dr. Yo Jackson, a clinical child psychologist at the University of Kansas. Handled correctly, political discussions offer an opportunity for children to more fully understand their parents and their heritage. 'The bigger issue here for children is that they truly want to know their parents,' says Jackson. The key to making a political discussion more meaningful is to focus on how you came to adopt your beliefs. For example, instead of lecturing your daughter on the importance of electing a veteran or someone who opposes the death penalty, tell her as simply as possible how you came to hold your opinions. 'If you're a strong Democrat or Republican, you may want to tease out why and then go a step further and explain where you got these strong views,' advises Jackson. 'What in your life or your family happened that made you arrive at this belief?' The suggestion the expert gave to the parents with strong political views when asked by their children is _________.