Children are born without prejudice or hate in their hearts. Feelings of either of these emotions are learned from adults that are in their lives. People form prejudice attitudes about others for many different reasons. Some people choose to hate others based on their sex, race, religion, or economical standing in the community & this is just to name a few. No matter what it is based on hate is wrong, and we should never teach our children this mind-set. One thing is certain if a child has formed a prejudice attitude or behavior they have learned it from someone.

The best way to teach your children how to deal with prejudice is to lead by example. Let your children know that it is wrong to dislike someone that has never done anything to harm them. Many children hear adults talking about parents of another child and they form prejudice against that child based on what they heard the adults discussing. This is understandable because if mom or dad thinks that little Suzie's mom is trash and they don't want to be around her then the child may begin to feel the same way about the little Suzie. This is one of the really important reasons that adults need to watch what they say in the presence of children. It is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Children love to imitate people that they look up to. If we don't want our children to hate others we need to make sure that we don't teach them this behavior.

It is so much easier to teach a child how to love and accept others, rather than to hate them. I don't know any parents that would be ashamed of their child for showing love or compassion to another person.

Learn more about this author, Regina W.
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