Teaching tolerance to our kids

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2010
Teaching tolerance to our kids
1822
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.

Kevali


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:31pm
LoL....that's cute.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:32pm

BYOB. lol!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:33pm
My youngest son is very much a rule follower to the nth degree sometimes it seems. For example when he was younger and they had to write sentences with their spelling words, sentences that contained at at least 10 words, he worked hard at making them exactly 10 words, lol.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2009
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:33pm

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:33pm
LoL...that one made me chuckle.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:36pm
Because as I have said numerous times now, I don't support or encourage lies and for me to say yes to those questions, would be a lie. I'm not going to Fantasy Island today, thank anyway.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:36pm

My bad..it WAS to you but then you answered it before me BUT I did not see that.

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Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:36pm
I don't know what we'll do since we're not there yet. I'll definitely have her friend me so I can monitor her page, but I don't see us sitting down together reading her friends' boards. She'll be at least 14 when she gets a FB page, so I would hope not to feel she needs that much monitoring. I hadn't thought about parents logging in as their kids to check up on them--now I"m curious how common this is.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:37pm
What kind of answer would you expect when you refuse to obey the rules of faceboook and choose instead to assume something else?
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2010
Fri, 12-31-2010 - 4:38pm

<>

THIS was the question. Your answer is NO to this?

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