In light of recent events, it’s been very difficult to find the right words to say. There is so much in our world right now that is difficult to understand, much less explain to our children. And it seems to be getting more tense and stressful everyday.
So, as a society, what can we do? As Christian parents what can we do? How can we raise a generation to do better? To know better, to treat each other better, and to embrace each other with the eyes of Christ? We can start by teaching our children diversity from very early on. But….how do we do this?
Look at Yourself
If you remember from my post, It Starts With Us, everything we do as a parent starts by getting our heart right. When we start looking at ourselves, our eyes can be opened to places that may need work. When you look at your friend group, do you see a diverse group of people? Are your mom groups comprised of women that are of the same race, socio-economic status, backgrounds, and even taste in music as you? Or do you have friends from all over the world, with different skin colors, different ideas and view points, and different experiences? What we live out is what our children will see. So, if you’re friend group is more like the first example above, start branching out. Start finding people who are very different and can help you broaden your horizons as a person.
What types of movies and shows do you watch as a family? Do you tend to stick to shows with characters that are similar to your family? Do you play it safe and stay away from difficult topics? Obviously, we want to keep things age appropriate, but as our children age, let’s start opening up more examples of movies and tv of different cultures.
What types of words do you say? What kind of language do you use? This one is huge, because we may have grown up hearing things that we assumed were OK, but are obviously not. Let’s try to have a more inclusive language when we speak and avoid using generalizations, derogatory comments, or stereotypical talk. Our children are very quick to pick up on what we say and do, so let’s be good examples by teaching our children diversity in our language.
What We Eat
Do you only stick to “American” food? Have you ever taken your family to a restaurant owned by people of a different culture then your own? There are so many ways to do this, and it can be so much fun! You could start having a “cook around the world” night once a month where you celebrate a different culture by cooking and eating traditional foods from somewhere different than your home town. You could even make it an event night by doing all kinds of activities related to that particular culture!
What We Read
You can start this before you even have kids. Read books that celebrate differences. Read books by black authors. Buy them and fill your shelves. Start your kids library with books about all kinds of people. Include fiction and nonfiction. And as your kids age, continue growing their library for them. I’ve included a list a the bottom of this article outlining some great books.
As an adult, it’s important that we are diversifying our social media. There are so many great women out there who have blogs that I personally find very inspiring. Some of my favorites are Mrs Egenti, The Spring Break Family, and Adrienne Collins. All of these strong black women have a little corner of the world that they are experts in….Mrs Egenti writes about faith and her family. Montoya (The Spring Break Family) is super passionate about embracing every break we get with our kids and living it to the fullest. Adrienne is a Veteran, a recording artist and a mindset/energy coach. This girl can do it all!
Where We Go
Chances are, if you live in a decent size community, there will be all types of cultural events. Plug in and go to those events. Special Olympics, Jewish Food Festival, Greek Food Festival, Black History Month at the library…whatever your community offers, try to go. Take your kids and meet new people! This is one of the easiest ways to experience other cultures and try new things.
Travel. If your family can afford it, go. Go all over the world. Skip Disney World. Go to Mexico, Jamaica, Greece, or Italy. Get away from typical tourist things and really see the world. I am working really hard to get myself to a place where we can do this. I want to experience those things for myself, but also show the world to my daughter.
Have Hard Conversations
As your children age and start to ask questions, answer them. This is hard though, as it will require you to acknowledge some of your own privileges and prejudices. Discuss what is happening in an age-appropriate way and help them understand why. Things can be confusing and difficult to understand, and it is our job as parents to help them gain a broader perspective of the world.
I hope this article helps you realize some actionable steps you can take to promote diversity in your family. I am a firm believer that everything that we want to see in the world must start in our homes and that starts with teaching our children diversity. I understand that as a middle-class white woman, this is written from my perspective and I probably am missing some steps or things that others may feel as important. Please take this article with a little grace, and know that I am only scratching the surface in what I believe we can do, and this is meant to be a guide of small steps anyone could start right now. I by no way am downplaying the seriousness of what is happening in our country right now, or the significance of events. That is just a large article I am not ready to write. I hope to promote self-awareness, growth, and love in my writings. For more information on things you can do, you can visit https://blacklivesmatter.com/
Thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say, and I have included a great list of books and movies we can all get our kids started on today.