Our society has become more accepting and inclusive over the last decade or so and, if you ask me, that is a wonderful thing.
In order to keep this positive trend that we have going for long into the future, we need to raise our children to be as accepting and inclusive as possible too.
Children do, of course, start from a naturally accepting and neutral base when they are born, however, school, life and social pressures all contribute to negative influences being allowed to creep in and taint their thoughts.
That’s what we want to avoid.
If you want to raise an accepting child just like we do, here are our top tips to help you do just that.
Use inclusive language
Whenever you are discussing anything with your child make sure to use inclusive language. Examples of this are:
- Using “parents” or “grown-ups” instead of mummy and daddy
- Using neutral they/them pronouns before you know someone’s gender identity
- Using appropriate terms for race and culture
- Using appropriate terms for disabilities and the differently abled
If you need help with this, there are now lots of children’s books available that help children to develop positive, inclusive vocabulary.
It might seem like something that doesn’t matter too much, but it really does.
Language is always loaded and it really helps children to grow up as inclusive adults if they get this language down early.
Read and watch diverse content
As we’ve mentioned, there are lots of books out there for children that will help them understand diversity and be inclusive.
It’s important that you give your child access to and encourage them to use as many different diverse books, films and TV shows as possible.
If we make sure that our children are actively seeing all types of identities, races, sexualities, and so on, we can make sure that they automatically think inclusively. Children very often get confused by concepts later in life simply if they have never seen them before.
Showing them diverse content when they are small will help diversity become the norm for them.
Involve them in different communities
It is also important to immerse your children in different communities in the real world as well as in media.
Sign them up for clubs, communities, and events in all different types of communities with all different types of people.
The more they meet people all of different kinds, the easier it will be for them to be kind, welcoming and inclusive to all kinds of people.
Broadening your child’s horizons at a young age is a great thing to do before they start out in the world. It gives them a great start and life and allows them to make positive connections with all kinds of people. This kind of attitude will serve them well as they go through life.
It will also make them kinder and more social people, which is always a benefit.
With a little bit of effort, we can all raise accepting children who grow up to make the world a better place for everyone.
Isn’t that a lovely thought?
