Teaching your child to respect other cultures

In an increasingly international world, it’s becoming more and more important for us all to know about different cultures and traditions, and to respect differences. As parents, it’s our job to teach our children about diversity and introduce them to different kinds of people from a variety of places so they see interacting with differing cultures as normal. Read on for some tips from a private school in Hertfordshire on how you can teach your child to respect other cultures. 

Demonstrate respect yourself

You are your child’s most influential role model; they’ll look to you for clues on how to interact with people and handle situations, so if they see you respecting and even celebrating other cultures they’ll likely get involved and continue doing that themselves as they grow and mature. It’s important we teach our children to treat everyone equally, no matter how dissimilar they are to us, so next time your child encounters someone from a different culture, take the time to explain it and emphasize that someone’s background should not affect how we interact with them. 

Mix with different people

If your child only mixes with people like them, their perspective on the world might be quite narrow. To broaden it, give them as many opportunities as possible to interact with people from different cultures. You could take them to community events centred around a particular religious celebration, or even get them involved in adding the dates of significant religious holidays into your calendar so you can mark them in some way. Your child’s school will probably also highlight different religious and cultural occasions so you could carry on the celebrations at home to emphasise how important it is to acknowledge diverse traditions. 

Make use of technology

You can introduce your child to different cultures by giving them the chance to watch movies in a foreign language or reading books on cultural topics. They might even find it exciting to learn a second language and research the culture and traditions of the people who speak it. You might also be able to find games they can play on their tablet which explore different religions and cultures. The more your child is exposed to cultural differences, the more they’ll learn to respect and appreciate people from all walks of life. 

Learning about other cultures in depth and celebrating them will broaden your child’s viewpoint and teach them that equality and diversity are important values to maintain throughout their life.