Role Modeling Respect For Diversity

04/27/2004

Role Modeling Respect For Diversity

"Practice hope. As hopefulness becomes a habit, you can achieve a permanently happy spirit." - Norman Vincent Peale

ROLE MODELING RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY

Karen Stephens, writing in her Parenting Exchange column, "Help Kids by Role Modeling Respect for Diversity," offers this advice to parents...

"There's absolutely no doubt that today's children will live a long life in a diverse world and global economy. In school, at work, and in marriages, cultural and racial overlap and blending will continue, and most likely increase.

"If parents teach children arbitrary bias--even hatred, children will be handicapped. Their ability to competently engage in diverse social interactions will be stunted. They'll be shortchanged, both personally and economically. Cultural differences, as well as similarities, contribute to the quality of everyone's life. To prepare children with the social skills they'll need, parents must model responding to diversity with grace, respect, acceptance and appreciation. We should do far more than teach mere tolerance.

"Parents' behavior and the tone of social interactions--public as well as private-- set the standard for children's behavior. Our children are depending on us to teach them how to live comfortably and productively within diversity."

This complete column with the excerpt above, as well as over 150 other practical columns offering advice on topics of concern to parents such as bedtime, death, fears, grandparents, social skills, eating habits, positive discipline, and separation anxiety, can be ordered from Exchange at... http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0167

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