Teaching Your Child about the Differences in Others

There is so much diversity in this world. We need to embrace this rather than having these differences separate us. This starts with teaching children that every person is unique and important. When children are taught from an early start about the individualities of others, they will learn to better understand and accept them as commonplace. Differences are special, just like every child. Here are some ways to talk to your little one about the differences in the people around them, both near and far. It will help open further discussions as your child gets older and encounters new people.

People Look Different

When children are small, and especially if they are not exposed to a variety of people, they may not understand why others sometimes look quite different from them. Explain that every person is born with something special. Some have blue eyes, others have brown. Your child may have blonde hair and his neighbor’s may be dark brown. Grandma may have white hair. In school, your child may make friends of different races with a variety of skin colors. It’s just the way we were made. Kids get that. No eye color is better than another, no hair is any better than any other hair, no skin shade is better. The sooner kids realize the differences are just there, the more they will see people for who they are and not for what they look like on the outside.

People May Have Different Beliefs

As your child gets older, he may wonder why some kids celebrate different holidays, go to different types of schools, wear certain clothing, or have certain rules they follow in their households. From early on, the more we teach our kids about the wide world of religions, cultures, ethnicities, and the beliefs that go with them, the more tolerant our children will be and more curious to learn about people near and far. We may not hold the same values or may not even fully understand the differences, but if each child learns to accept others, as long as no one is harming anyone else, it is OK to have differences and we are all equal.

How do you teach your kids about the differences in others? For more info like this, please visit All My Children Daycare’s blogs.

By: Melissa A. Kay