How To Talk To Your Kids RATIONALLY About Trump's Victory

The last 24 hours has stunned the nation. Many children went to bed last night with the thought that they would wake up to the first female president. Parents told them they would wake them up to tell them the historical news.

And then the unthinkable happened, Hillary Clinton didn't win and history was made in a very different way. Parents are scrambling to figure out what to say to their children. 

By now, your children know. Who knows what the conversations and controversies at school have been today? After school and for the coming weeks and months you will be faced with ongoing discussions about how this happened and how to make sense of it.

So here are a few reminders to get you started:

1. YOU are your child's greatest role model.

There is no public figure that ever will or should replace the values that you want to teach your kids. Period. End of story. Make sure each and every day you model what you want to see in the world.

2. Hillary Clinton's loss is not a loss for women and girls.

She fought a hard fight, she did it with grace, she conceded with dignity and vulnerability and girls and women everywhere continue to make incredible gains.

I looked at my daughter straight in the face today and said, "Hillary didn't win, maybe you will be the first female president." This is not the end, it is a part of the journey.

3. Find the positives in President-Elect Trump's platform.

Tell your kids that issues that matter to him include security, creating jobs, doing things differently, speaking up for a segment of our country that had little voice and thinking and dreaming big.

Whether you agree with how he goes about getting to those goals, I think it is fair to say that we all care about those issues.

4. Do something.

We all know that failure, obstacles, and adversity are part of our lives. However, when it comes to walking the walk with our kids we sometimes struggle.

So, teach your kids to get involved in their classrooms, school, and communities. Teach them that if you want to see changes, you have to go out there and make it happen one step at a time.

Never has there been a greater time in your child's life to see and do this.

5. We are still the greatest nation in the world.

Don't let fear (your own or your child's) cloud that truth. This is an opportunity to teach your kids to embrace differences, celebrate democracy, freedom, and liberty.

Those of us who voted had the privilege to participate in this election, and that is something that we cannot forget as many parents struggle with the outcome.

Overtly, let your kids know that we don't always get what we want or think is best, but we will still celebrate the process by which our country was founded upon.

Most importantly, as you go about your afternoon and the coming days, point out to your children that life as they know it is the same.

Their school is still there, their teachers are still the same, your home is still yours, games and activities will go on business as usual — a sense of safety and security is something that you can instill in their lives right now, today.

Dr. Sheryl Ziegler is a mother, psychologist, speaker, and author of an upcoming book, Mommy Burnout. You can follow her parenting advice in her newsletter by signing up today.