I’ve seen plenty of tv tropes where it’s being stated that the president is what every kid in the US dreams to be when they grow up. Is that still the case, or is that in the past now? Given how much Americans seem to like to criticize the president and how much responsibility that’s in the job, honestly I can’t imagine why anyone would want to take up the job.
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sure
What age are the kids being asked in this scenario? If you ask a 6 year old what they want to be when they grow up, they don’t have a lot of life experience or reasoning skills. They just parrot the name of a job they’re familiar with.
None of them are going to say “pharmaceutical sales” or “geotechnical engineer” or “customer success manager for a SAS organization”. They say “fireman”, “teacher”, and “the President” because they’re familiar with those things. They’re not aware of the trappings of the job of the President, they just know who the President is.
Ask 16 year olds, get different answers.
I wanted to be the starting shortstop for the Braves when I was 6. That never happened.
For whatever its worth, I remember this question being asked in grade school occasionally and students were supposed to say what they wanted to be when they grew up. This was like early 90s I suppose. I remember thinking how weird it was that on TV every kid wants to be the president or an astronaut, but no one ever seemed to give those answer in real life. I also vaguely remember some girls saying they wanted to be a homemaker and then being subtly shamed by teachers for saying that. I remember a lot of people saying they wanted to do whatever it was their parents happened to do and a lot of kids being told “being rich isn’t actually a job.” Just my personal experiences, though.
Sure
I said Vice President. I knew my limits. Humility is a virtue.
Depends on what age group. Little kids, up to age 10, aspire to have high profile and familiar occupations like president, astronaut, actor, and doctor. An astounding number of 3 year old boys want to be train conductors!
Middle school and up, they will give answers more tailored to their interests. They will have a more nuanced view of what being president entails, so it will be a less popular choice.
I know I did when I was 9 or 10, I think. Thought it would be so cool to rule the country. Of course, at the time, I knew little to nothing about what being President *actually* entails.
when i was a kindergartner in 2008 we were talking about the elections and everyone was saying how they wanted to be president when they grew up. i wanted to be a policeman so i could see what the tickets looked like 💀
When I was a kid, it was a common answer when asked what you want to be when you grow up, along with things like firefighter, veterinarian, and doctor.
I asked my mom when I was a kid if I could be president some day, and she said no, lol.
Perhaps, some. I think as folks get older they find their own aspirations and they also realize how thankless a position like President is. You can’t please everyone, a lot of things are actually outside of your control, and it doesn’t take much to screw it all up. I think many of us, despite childish dreams, don’t want anything to do with it.
I be studied political science in college- those kids definitely want to be president
Only if you’re defrauding the public with your crypto exchange.
I used to dream of/pretend to be the First Lady. All the fame, none of the responsibility.
You’re looking at the presidency from a cynical adult point of view. Kids tend to be a lot more optimistic and don’t take into account the reality of things like stress and the potential nastiness in their dream jobs.
I wanted to be a truck driver when I grew up. 🤷
I doubt it was ever a common dream among kids.
It’s a TV trope intended to show the person is smart or a good leader. That kid will want to be POTUS, the athletic kid will want to be the next Michael Jordan, the cheerleader will want to be a supermodel, etc.
It most certainly is! In fact one former runner for president, Senator Tim Scott has had the Dream of Running for President ever since he was a kid.
I never wanted to be president when I was a kid. I’d make a shitty one anyway.
Like most kids growing up in NYC in the early 2000s, I wanted to play shortstop for the Yankees like Jeter. Sadly that has yet to happen for me.
Yes, it’s been my dream since I was a kid
It’s a shit job full of scoundrels and assholes.. old fucks clogging up the gears of progress..
Anecdotally, a few years ago I heard a children’s author speak and talk about her book series about a mouse who lived in the white house/was president. First book came out in 2015 and did pretty well, then the sequel came out in 2016 and totally flopped. Series got cancelled, publisher decided that kids and parents didn’t want to read about the white house. No idea if that has changed but the last few election cycles have been contentious enough to take the shine off of being president I’d guess.
it depends who you ask these days, most really young kids will say pretty basic generic jobs, like police officer, fireman, mayor, teacher, president, etc.
A lot of kids who say this do it under the impression that the president can do anything they want because they’re the head of state, and as such it’s more of a power fantasy about “if I were in charge of the country I’d make a law against bedtimes”. It’s kind of the same thing as kid saying they want to be a king or something up until they’re in middle school and old enough to more solidly understand what being the president actually entails.
They want to be youtube stars, or gang bangers