How to Teach Children Culture Diversity
America is far more diverse than it has ever been. According to america.gov, 34 percent of the population claimed minority racial or ethnic heritage in 2007, a huge leap from 2000, when it was only 11 percent. Teaching your children to understand and respect one another's differences is important. Opening the doors to cultural diversity will teach your family valuable lessons about different cultures, customs, foods, rituals and more.
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Instructions
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Choose to live in a culturally diverse area. Living in an area inhabited by who are similar to you in background limits the exposure your children have to others. Before purchasing a home or choosing a school district, research the diversity in the community and schools. CityTownInfo is a website that allows you to search specific cities and learn about their demographics.
Once you have moved into your new home, encourage your children to befriend children of other cultures, something that should be quite easy to do if they live in the same neighborhood. -
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Read books about other cultures. Bookstores and libraries offer a wealth of information. Find books about holidays celebrated by children around the world. If you celebrate Christmas and Easter, encourage your children to wish Muslim children a happy Ramadan or a happy Eid when those celebrations come around. The same goes for Kwanza and Hanukkah.
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Talk to your children. Explain that this is a country where people are free to worship their own religions and practice their own customs. Make sure your child understands that each of us is different and unique, but there's much that we share, regardless of the way we dress, the food we eat or the way we worship.
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Expose your children to different cultures by eating at a variety of restaurants. If you are Hispanic, take your children to a deli for a corned beef sandwich or a Thai restaurant for noodles. Restaurants are often decorated to fit the culture they represent and play authentic music. They offer an abundance of learning possibilities, such as how to eat with chopsticks.
In addition, have your children help you prepare another nationality's dish. -
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Attend cultural festivals and exhibits. If a Byzantine church has a Greek festival every June, and your heritage is Irish, make sure you attend. If the museum in your town has an exhibit of Native American art, attend that, too.
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Tips & Warnings
The website More4Kids reminds readers that one of the best ways to teach children about cultural diversity is by being an example and allowing them to see that you are accepting of other cultures.
