Top 3 Ways to Teach Your Child to Accept Children Who Are Different

Your children are going to encounter other children who are different than them. Here's three ways to teach your children to accept other children. 1. Understanding: We all have situations. There are always underlying circumstances that people are going through that they don’t outwardly express. Often, past events have affected how they view the world. And also view themselves. Understanding is very important when dealing with others who may be different than ourselves. Listening and opening our hearts to understand that we all have gone through different events that made us who we are today. 2. Empathy: Have you ever heard the quote, “try to live a day in someone else’s shoes”? That is where empathy comes in. The movie “Freaky Friday” showed this perfectly, and at the end of movie, the relationships were healed. If we are empathetic towards others by seeing their points of view, or just listening to them about their fears, then we can be more accepting of who they are. 3. Avoid wrong or right/ negative or positive: Focus on the positive attributes of others. See who they are versus what they look like. Someone’s heart may be good, but they may not have enough money to buy brand name clothing. We all have talents bestowed upon us and as a society we should try to see the good in all around us; like Lace did with Mr. Roach in my book, Don't Judge a Bug By Its Cover, . When you see someone doing something differently than you would do it, don’t judge it as wrong. Maybe their way works just as well or better. Be open-minded to new ideas.