Acceptance without Threat or Humiliation

Children’s ability to discern between “right and wrong” – regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, body size, sexual orientation, learning differences or other impairment helps them to grow up with respect for others.
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Children are not born prejudiced. It is the adults in their lives who provide impactful lessons about right and wrong. Expressions of hate, intolerance, fear, disgust, or distaste towards an individual or group based upon a particular quality sends a strong message that kids are likely not to forget. Kids also learn a great deal by observing how we respond whenever we encounter instances of bias. Beyond modeling appropriate behaviors and effectively responding to difficult situations, we must actively teach children to appreciate and embrace their own uniqueness, heritage and diversity. These are some important determinants about the best pathway to overcome false constructs and the social illusions that divides us.