In 1984, when I was 6 years old, my dad had the talk with me.  No, not that talk you weirdo, the one about elections and politics. It was the summer of Reagan's big re-election campaign and "It's Morning In America" was all over the airwaves (written and narrated by my future boss Hal Riney). It was my first election cycle, and I had lots of questions.  Fast forward to 2012 and I'm finding myself having the same conversation with my own 6 year old.  While he's not sitting and watching the debates, he is exposed to the occasional attack ad, and parental grumbling about their opposition candidate.  I struggle to find the best way to teach him about elections, party platforms, and the bigger questions like "why don't you like that guy". 

Yesterday while cruising the aisles of Target, I got some friendly parenting advice from a woman of a certain age.  Wylie was reaching back into the cart to grab the giant bouncy ball we were getting.  I asked him to turn around and she sighed and said "I think you're asking a lot Mom". Right. This is not the first time I've received handy tips from grumpy old ladies.  I think it'd be funny to compile an ongoing list of the unsolicited parenting advice we've received, especially from nosy strangers.  Leave your stories here or on facebook.