Be The Change Not The Problem
One of the reasons I started this blog was to challenge prejudice and ignorance. It’s easy for people to judge something they don’t understand. It was easier when it just affected my husband and I. Now it affects our kids. A kid doesn’t understand and in turn, they make fun of the boys for doing something different.
One of the most common ways Liam is made fun of for his culture is eating with his hands. Kids and parents see it and assume we have either a disrespectful child or kids laugh and mock. He has gotten to a point where he is extremely proud for eating like daddy as he likes to say. He doesn’t understand why people would laugh at him when he takes such pride in it.
Yes, it makes me mad. What mom out there doesn’t want to protect her child from that. However, it’s a reality. It’s a teaching opportunity for Liam. He gets to learn how to respond. He can get embarrassed or remember that people look strangely upon what’s different. I want him to know that moment is his opportunity to share his culture with others.
It also challenges me to teach my kids about other cultures. I want my kids to see people of every ethnicity as the norm rather than the oddity. How many times have you heard a kid loudly comment on the color of the person next to them. Sometimes it’s just kids being kids. Kids have no filter and say what comes to their mind. I want to know my kids are being observant not shocked that there could possibly be a black man next to them.
Liam loves seeing brown people like daddy. He lets me know they look like him and daddy. He has also told me that he is a little brown like daddy and a little white like mommy.
Challenge your kids and family. Don’t let other ethnicities be the oddity. Make sure your kids have friends of every race. Set up those play dates! If you don’t have kids yet, expose yourself! Please don’t be that ignorant person that looks down on someone simply because they’ve never learned. Instead see the beauty and vibrance of other cultures.
Celebrate diversity!