Do you mention “diversity” to kids? What if they have questions? How do we address this idea without adding all of the current day spectator-ism around it? If you’ve asked yourself this or felt the need to ask this, I’m writing this post as an invitation to view this topic light-hearted and through the eyes of a child.
If I were to ask my now seven year old son, what is diversity, he probably would think it was a city, a literal city, in the southern part of the United States. It’s not that we don’t like the word in our home, in fact we mention it quite a bit, especially in connection with modern day events. But we do put it into perspective.
When dealing with the bright, knowledgeable, and witty kids of today, we not only have to have a keen sense of awareness of what is going on around us in our world and theirs, we must also digest these things for ourselves first before explaining it for our children to understand. And they may not.
In the way of diversity and race, these are social constructs created by us humans to try to make sense of things. But in a kids mind, some things simply don’t make sense. We have to stop and think, is this even supposed to make sense to them. Is understanding diversity important to their being, to their work in the world now? Just because we live in a world where everyone is saying it is in education and media, we have to decide if the same is true in our home, in our own groups.
Is it relevant to their daily lives? Is it something that, in regards to adult understanding, they need to be introduced to with the many facets it has been introduced in modern day instances? Is it advantageous or destructive knowledge at this tender age?
When it comes to “diversity” issues like these, take a step back and just enjoy how your kids interact with their environment, and the wait for the questions they come up with. I’m continually surprised and put in a learning position when I take this step. It’s refreshing to know that nothing is off limits with them, and in this they might even have the opportunity to come up with better solutions.
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