Australia is home to many various cultures and peoples. With so many beautiful histories, traditions and backgrounds, it’s important to teach our children how to be open-minded and to appreciate and include people from all walks of life!
Every child is born open-minded and accepting of everybody. Here’s how you can encourage your children to be more inclusive and celebrate diversity!
Children learn best from example. At Little Zak’s Academy, we make it a point to create a warm environment that is accepting of everyone, no matter the age, race, job or religion.
Speak only positive of the people around you: your spouse, your neighbours, your friends and even the garbage collectors! Remember to be the model for how your children should act.
The best way for children to understand the others’ feelings is by putting themselves in another’s shoes. If you feel like your child has the tendency to leave people out, take the time to discus it with him/her. Ask your child to sit out play time for a few minutes then ask “how did it feel for you to not be included? How you do think others feel when they don’t get asked to play?”
Labels are the strongest way to create a divide between people. Not only do people feel marginalised when called by a label but it can also influence kids to be less inclusive of people “unlike” them. Do away with terms like “the boy who can’t walk” or “the dark girl” as they only point out differences. At our child care centres for example, we ditch any kind of label and call each other by our given first names at all times!
Build a diverse circle for you and your child. Check to see whether you are limiting your child’s circle of concern to including only people from the same background as you or if you give your child access to people from different backgrounds. Make it a point to interact with everyone in your neighbourhood and your community!
The best way to celebrate diversity is by introducing your child to different cultures! At our child care centre in Ultimo, we regularly introduce traditions and histories of different cultures to our kids so that they grow up with a deep appreciation of different peoples!
Little Zak’s Academy is committed to creating an environment where people from different ages, nationalities, cultures and religions is always welcome! Join us as we strive to become a more inclusive community and be one with us this Social Inclusion Week happening from the 25th of November to the 3rd of December.
