I live in a small town.

A VERY small town.

Where I live 95% of the population is white... I am half Indian and half of German descent.
I have little hope of escaping prejudice in my town!

Throughout my childhood in the city I had never once experienced prejudice. I grew up surrounded by children of different races, backgrounds, families and monetary status. I never realized that people can be viewed differently, and that people regularly judge others by the color of the skin or by how much money they have.

It was not until I moved to this town that I felt the chill that prejudice can give you.

It took some time for the people of the town to realize that there is more to me than my dark skin and city fashion, but now I am a respected member of the community.

However, I now worry about the prejudice my children will experience when they attend school. I fear the day that they come running to me out of the school gate with tears streaming down their face. I dread to hear the words, "they called me a..." or "they teased me about the color of my skin". What will I say to my poor child?

I have thought hard about how to teach my children to deal with prejudice. There is an advertisement on television that shows an old Asian man cowering, while an angry white male shakes his fist and yells "Go back where you came from!" Behind the man stands his little son, mimicking his dad's angry expression, shaking his fist, and yelling "Go back where you came from!" The ad concludes with a message that what children see, children do.

In teaching your children how to deal with prejudice, one must realize this important fact. Young children especially copy their parents and their learned behaviors are based on what you do. If you treat others differently and with contempt, your children will believe that this is acceptable behavior and will do the same. However, if we treat our fellow humans as equal, our children will have no reason to believe that differences matter.

Apart from teaching by example, I believe that we should talk our kids about prejudice. From a young age, children should realize that there are no differences between them. Love and respect should be taught instead of judgment. Tell your children; "You love your brother/cousin/friend, don't you? It doesn't matter to you if they have different hair color or like different things. You may think they are different from you but you are all the same. You are all people and should all be treated the same".

If they unfortunately display signs of prejudice, talk to them and tell them that it is wrong to say bad things about other people and that we are all the same. Gently remind them that they would not like to be called names or be considered different, and that they will hurt the feelings of the person they are prejudiced against.

If your children are on the other side of the situation and have experienced prejudice towards them, remind them that their differences do not matter. Reassure them that you love them and that no matter what they do in life you will always love them. Tell them that there are people who live in this world who do not understand that we are all equal. Do not say negative things about the other person, as it will defeat the purpose of teaching your kids that we are equal!

It will be hard for children to accept that people think they are different, but if we continually remind them that we love them and accept them just the way they are they will feel better. Our love and acceptance of who they are will help them to love and accept themselves. And, not just themselves, but other people as well.

Learn more about this author, Kristina Manusu.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Teaching your children how to deal with prejudice?
We want to hear your view. Write now!