"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

Last year, when we went to the water park, there was a lot of people of different colors and nationality. My daughter saw a little boy who skin was as dark as hers and pointed to him and said "look mama, he is the same color as me, but he talks different." I politely smiled at the child and her parents and apologized for my daughters outburst and took her to the side and explained that the child talked funny because he was from a different country, but he still deserve respect and not to be singled out just because he talked funny. I tried not to make her feel bad for being outspoken and expressing her opinion, but I was a little embarrassed myself because I felt that I should have did a better job of teaching her about diversity. It is our job as parents to teach our kids about diversity first. "Bring into your home toys, books, TV programs, and records that reflect diversity.  Provide images of nontraditional gender roles, diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, and a range of family lifestyles. Show that you value diversity through your friendships and business relationships.  What you do is as important as what you say. Make and enforce a firm rule that a person's ethnic background is never an acceptable reason for teasing or rejecting someone.
Provide opportunities for your children to interact with others who are racially or culturally different and with people who have disabilities.  Look for opportunities in the neighborhood, school, afterschool and weekend programs, places of worship, camps, concerts, and other community events. Respectfully listen to and answer your child's questions about people's differences. If you ignore questions, change the subject, sidestep, or scold your child for asking, you may suggest that the subject is bad or inappropriate.
Teach you child ways to think objectively about bias and discrimination and to witness against these injustices. Set an example by your own actions."(ncpc.org,2014)
As anti bias educator, I would respond to the child by showing her pictures, drawing, movies about people from different races and explaining to her just because they are the same color, it does not make them the same. There are many people from different country who may look like her but their cultures and values may be different but we must not make fun of them, we can learn many things from them and them from us.

References

How Parents Can Teach Kids About Diversity — National Crime ...retrieved on June 14, 2014 from

www.ncpc.org/topics/hate-crime/diversity