A child who is exposed to diversity at an early age reaps far more benefits compared to those who are not. A child’s first introduction to their own culture and societal norms is often left to parents or guardians. In addition to teaching a child about their own culture and society, it is important for parents to introduce the idea that their own culture and norms are not the only, acceptable form. The three books from children’s literature I found that support this idea are Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw’s Same, Same but Different, Alexandra Penfold’s All Are Welcome, and Jess Hong’s Lovely.
Same, Same but Different, is about two girls who are pen pals and live in different countries across the globe. They talk about all the things they have in common and realize that although their worlds may look different, they are also similar in a number of ways.
All Are Welcome contains a classroom full of students from different cultures and backgrounds. After all the characters share their different cultural traditions, they realize that their combined differences are what ends up being their biggest strength as a group.
Lovely, introduces the idea that being diverse is not limited to race. Her book contains gender non-conforming people, disabled people, and people of all age groups but places them all under the same umbrella of loveliness.
Books like these give parents a starting point for discussion and help guide conversations that allow children to widen their worldviews. Introducing a topic like this in early childhood has shown to advance children in all realms of their education and their community involvement in the future. A study done at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, concluded that “engaging children in culturally responsive educational experiences helps to build young children’s self-confidence and skills, increase children’s awareness, appreciation, and inclusion of diverse beliefs and cultures, and maximize children’s academic achievement and educational success.” Creating an early anti-bias at home and in a classroom enhances not only the life and learning experience of your own child, but creates a positive, accepting environment for all people no matter how they identify.
“Cultural Diversity.” Cultural Diversity | Early Childhood Development, University of Nebraska Lincoln, child.unl.edu/cultural-diversity.