Silicon Valley: Gone are the days when mom was the most important person for a child. Post-September 11, US President George Bush is the most important person for kids- even more than their mothers.

In the second "kids speak out!" contest, sponsored by the 'World Almanac for Kids', President Bush was named as the most important person by 69 per cent, followed by Mom with nearly 26 per cent. Only one out of five kids felt their fathers were most significant.

The events of September 11 and kids' concern for safety showed up frequently in how children aged between six and 14 responded to the contest question, "who are the three most important people in the world today, and why?"

"Every adult knows that the world changed on September 11. What I find interesting is that young kids seem to have a real sense of that as well. Their responses provide another measure of the magnitude of those events," said Kevin Seabrooke, editor of the World Almanac for Kids.

Others to figure in the list included then New York Mayor Guiliani, US Vice-President Dick Cheney, the American Secretary of State Colin Powell and terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Children from 46 US states entered the "kids speak out contest" sponsored by the World Almanac Books. Entries also came from children in Canada, Bosnia, Croatia, Egypt, England, Japan, Nigerian, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Malta, Slovenia and Kuwait.

PTI