Teaching tolerance to our kids
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| Mon, 12-27-2010 - 4:06pm |
The discussion in the other thread about gay marriage (OK, it wasn’t so much a discussion as an attack on granitestategal, plus the last time I checked it had devolved into mumbling and maniacal laughter...time to move on!) got me to thinking about this new generation of kids and how things have changed for them. Technology has exploded, and kids are more connected than ever before. They’re also disconnected in a whole new way, but this thread isn’t about that. I’d like to know what we are teaching our kids as far as tolerance for other religions, races and lifestyles.
My parents were brought up by parents who were extremely prejudiced against non-Catholics and non-whites. My great-grandparents must not have passed along the lessons they’d learned as immigrants themselves. The town we lived in was predominantly white and Catholic, and up until high school I didn’t know anyone who was black, Jewish, Hispanic, or gay*. When I moved away from home, I was blown away by how different people outside my little world really were, and fascinated by it. I was, and am, determined to raise my kids to respect and appreciate the differences of others and to understand that deep down we really aren’t that different.
A few years ago when DS was 4, we ran into the husband of a co-worker at a music festival. My co-worker is also male. I probably went overboard in my introduction, but I wanted to get the point across that it’s perfectly OK for some families to consist of 2 dads or 2 moms, or one parent, or parents of different races/religions.


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you do have an amazing girl..one thing i really like about the ages my older two are at is that wider open door of communication.
I would have to say, if my underage child were on FB and needed to have FB privileges removed frequently,
with some knots along the way, ITA and was thinking the same thing.
The point is that you take away something important to the child. Years ago we would do other things. Shrug.
I WAS easy and not lying-lol!! I listened to what I was told to do. Did I get in trouble? Of course but ONLY a handful of times. I can actually name the times. Really only TWO big ones. Never got grounded either.
I have found natural and logical consequences work best - not randomly removing a privilege.
What works for one might not work for another.
A portion of the discussion has been removed, in particular where it digressed into personal attacks. Please remember to debate the topic and not the person. Every member of this message board is a valued member and I would hate to see ANYone not participate due to pettiness and unnecessary comments...
Thank you for understanding.
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