Teaching Children Tolerance
Learning the Importance of Appreciating Differences in Others
As children mature, the differences in people become more apparent and they begin to pick up on societal attitudes towards those of other religions, races, and cultural backgrounds. The attitudes can come from grandparents who spout racial slurs, favorite television programs that depict religious groups in a negative light, or a best friend who makes fun of a classmates cultural language, or clothing.
When kids learn tolerance, they are essentially learning the importance of appreciating the differences of others, and how to treat every individual with the same level of compassion, kindness, and respect -- regardless of who they are, or where they come from.
Ways to Teach Children to Respect the Differences of Others
The media has a tendency to place unfair racial, cultural, and religious stereotypes on others, causing kids to prejudge because of their limited experiences with individuals from backgrounds that are different from their own. So parents have a responsibility to help children understand that the images shown on television are often biased, and does not represent an entire group of people.
Parents should never allow friends to display their lack of tolerance around their children. If moms and dads stand idly by while their friends spout racial epithets, or make offensive jokes about someone else's religion, it sends kids the silent message that these behaviors are acceptable. Simply let friends know that they are entitled to believe what they’d like about other people, but your family is one that respects, and appreciates the differences of others.
Talking positively to children about others helps them understand that everyone deserves to be judged as an individual, not grouped in a category that's based on religious beliefs, skin color, or cultural differences. Being from a dissimilar background is not a bad thing, and should never be used as a criteria to determine another's worth.
Parents Set Examples
Parents should set an example of how other religions and cultures are valued in the household by encouraging kids to invite friends from diverse backgrounds into the home; making multicultural books and toys an accessible part of their everyday playthings; and allowing them to learn about the rich heritages of others via festivals, cooking classes, parades, museums, etc.
When children don’t learn to respect differences in others, it cheats them out of the valuable opportunity to form everlasting friendships; sets the foundation for hate; and hinders their ability to function in a society that grows more diverse with each passing day.
