It's really bad for kids and very disturbing to parents. Some parents, like Shannon and his wife, Elaine, spin the radio dial to avoid X-rated news broadcasts. Others are like Margie Pena, who runs a community center in Houston and uses developments in the scandal to teach her 10 children and grandchildren about morals, decision-making and forgiveness. We have to try to explain to our children that we are human, that people make mistakes, that everyone has to take responsibility, that eventually things can catch up to you. These are hard lessons that we don't talk about enough.
Most parents take a middle ground.
Kids Say the Darndest Things . The children seem to take these moral messages to heart. The younger ones, more often than not, pointed to the lies the president told. Children of all ages identified with the suffering of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, many having experienced the wound of infidelity in their own families. And I'd never think about him as an influence again.