Charlotte Pence Bond, the second child and eldest daughter of Vice President Mike Pence, discussed Littles News Briefing — a series of web-based shows providing coronavirus-related news to children — on Friday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.
Pence Bond described Littles News Briefing — with new episodes published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — as an aid for parents towards keeping kids abreast of the latest developments around the coronavirus outbreak.
The show’s description reads:
Littles News Briefing with Charlotte Pence Bond is a show for kids between ages 5-14 discussing the news of the day. Especially in these trying times, our children need a comforting and informative voice explaining the complex issues our nation is facing, and Charlotte Pence Bond is that voice. The show includes news briefings, interviews with experts (in government, medicine, data and more), and answers questions from real-life kids.
Pence Bond recalled being an eight-year-old on September 11, 2001, and her parents’ initial instinct of shielding her from the news of the day’s Islamic terrorist attacks.
“This originally started as an idea to try to help kids understand what was going on,” Pence Bond said. “I was eight years old when 9/11 happened, and I was thinking about how I was not allowed to go in the living room — and I’m pretty sure my brother snuck in and tried to watch the TV and tell us what was going on — because we would have been scared if we were allowed to watch the news.”
Pence Bond continued, “Kids are probably in the same situation right now, but everybody’s stuck at home so it’s a little bit harder to avoid hearing the news about what’s happening. That can be kind of scary for kids. So I just wanted to put a little briefing that was for kids like my dad and the president have been doing [in their] briefings for adults.”
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“Kids pick up on a lot more than we think,” Pence Bond stated. “Even young kids will notice a change in routine, and this is a drastic change. … Kids notice that. They also pick up on tension and stress in the household.”
Children resist paternalism, Pence Bond noted. “My goal is to really just put educational facts out there, [and] not to be biased in any way, but just give them information because kids can [often] take in the information well. When they get information, then they’re being taken seriously, too, and not just treated like they don’t understand.”
Marlow noted the frequent politicization of content generated for children by the left.
Littles News Briefing helps children “feel informed” and “reassures them in a way,” added Pence Bond. The show features an interactive element where children can submit questions for Pence Bond to answer.
“It’s important for parents to have the freedom to share the news with their kids as much as they want to, [to] share controversial topics with them, and be the ones to introduce that to them,” concluded Pence Bond.
Breitbart News Daily broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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