This paper presents a survey of kindergarten children's understanding of social issues. Approximately 350 children from 14 kindergarten classes participated in taped small group discussions with a female interviewer. The classes involved in the study included 11 public school kindergarten classes, two inner city day care center programs and one university laboratory school class. The interviews with the children included discussions of television preferences, television program reality, understanding of news programs, attitudes towards the police, use of guns and gun ownership, understanding of the concept of war, family composition, work and unemployment. The children were also asked about the most exciting thing that had happened in their neighborhood in the last few weeks. Children's responses to these questions are discussed and transcriptions of sample interviews are presented. Results are discussed in terms of the role of television in children's lives and in terms of parents' responsibility for child guidance. (BD)