Teaching your child to respect other cultures is a great way for them to understand and celebrate diversity. It will also give your child a better insight into some of the traditions and customs their friends might practice.

Here are some great tips from an independent boy’s school in Buckinghamshire, on how to teach your child to respect other cultures…

Heritage

Many families represent a mixture of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Learning about your own family’s background or religious heritage is a great place to start. Teach your child about their own culture, identity, and traditions, and explore ways in which your family might be different from others.

Look at how and why you might do things differently and teach your child to respect other’s beliefs, even if they are different from their own.

Celebrate

A great way to teach your kids about other cultures is to make a calendar of holidays and traditions celebrated around the world. For example, Diwali, Hanukkah and the Chinese New Year.

Add these events to your calendar and use each one as an opportunity to teach your child about the celebrations that are taking place across the globe. Discuss the people, the religion, the music, the food and any other interesting facts about these special occasions.

Research

Reading books and watching documentaries is an ideal way for your child to research different cultures and traditions. Books and media can take your child to anywhere in the world and help them to experience new lifestyles. Spend time with your child exploring various cultures online and reading books together.

Role model

It is important for parents to be good role models and demonstrate cultural empathy and sensitivity.

Parents must lead by example and always embrace diversity. If you are not open-minded about other people, you can’t expect your child to be. When your child asks questions, use them as an opportunity to help your child understand and respect cultural and ethnic differences.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.