With the onset of a new year and new federal administration, we at the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center feel hopeful for the future. While politics would seem to be the last thing at the heart of what we do — the education and nurturing of young children — it affects us in more ways than we can imagine.

For generations, American parents have pointed to the president of this great country when they want to inspire their children. “If you study hard, you too can be president of the United States one day.” The possibility that ANYONE can become president encourages children to dream big and aim high.

The person who occupies the White House is more than a political figure. For children everywhere in this country, the president embodies the potential in all of us — the best in all of us.

Regardless of what political side you sit on, what inspires us about this groundbreaking election are the themes of character, unity, empowerment, especially for young girls, and hope for the future. These are all things we at the Children’s Discovery Center try to teach children at a young age. It could come in the form of learning to share and take turns, taking risks and trying something new, making a new friend, or spending quality time with family. We witness these small achievements on a daily basis.

Values, character and empathy for others are all things we hope to teach our children, but we find them among the most difficult lessons to impart. Children, on the other hand, learn them rather handily, without giving them much thought.

That’s because they are things not consciously learned, but instead, absorbed through their own experience. They don’t learn values from a lesson plan, but from the example of their parents and other adults who influence them at a young age. They learn about empathy and love for others in much the same way.

The character of our president — and of all of political leaders — matters, for so many reasons, not the least of which is the example they set for our children. Character matters. Empathy matters. Honesty matters. The truth matters. They have nothing to do with politics or political parties. They matter, not just to the business in Washington, D.C., but in everything that we do.

These things are learned at an early age in sandboxes across this country. It is an important reminder to invest in our children, for they truly are our future. The example we set for them will pave the way for what dreams they can achieve, for themselves and the greater good.

Recently 22-year old Amanda Gorman, the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, was invited by first lady Dr. Jill Biden to President Joe Biden’s inauguration to share a message of hope entitled “The Hill We Climb.” In summary she said, “If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.”

Loretta Yajima is CEO of the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center.