Jessica Conars, guest contributor
All people dream of living in a free country where there is freedom of speech, equal rights for everyone and having the right to choose our own religion. That is the reason why it is important to teach our children be tolerant towards other people while they are little. Teaching our children tolerance contributes to making our society better and more responsible to the common moral values.
1. Teach your children how to get along with other people
The first and most important way of teaching your children how to be more tolerant is teaching them how to get along with other people, even if they are different. Your kids should realize that every day of their lives they will be constantly surrounded by people they may not like but who they must be patient and understanding with. If you feel that your child does not like someone just because of the way they look or their skin colour, you should explain that there are some things we can’t really choose in our lives. Another important thing is to show your own tolerance towards the others, because children always copy the behaviour of their parents, especially when they are little.
2. Teach your children that they should treat the others the way they want to be treated
“You must treat the other people the way you want to be treated by them” – this universal concept is one if the most important ones that you must teach your children, because our whole society is based on it as well as on people’s ability to respect each other. No one likes to be treated unfairly, indifferently or aggressively and that is the reason why our children must be taught not to hurt other people in any way.
3. Teach your children how to celebrate the differences people have
Usually, children do what their parents say. So, make sure your child really respects the differences between people. Find the best way to show them that people who live in different parts of the world are different by skin colour, traditions, foods, clothes and habits but this doesn’t mean that they are not similar at the same time. If your children realize how important differences are, they will learn how to be tolerant.
4. How to treat negative emotions
If you find out that your child is not tolerant towards people who are different, you must act carefully. First try to learn what the source of their negative emotions are and then start neutralizing their prejudice.
5. Teach them not to judge people
One of the key concepts that you must teach your child to is not to think that all people are the same and not to judge them by their own criteria. Your children must know that if someone has been mean to them, that doesn’t mean that all people are mean.
6. Teach your children compassion
It is clear that children can’t really understand some emotions if they haven’t felt them yet. That is the reason why parents should explain what compassion is. Try to make your child look at the world that surrounds us from a different point of view. This will help them understand why people are different.
7. Make a variety of acquaintances for your children
If your son or daughter is little, then now is the right time to teach them tolerance. Help them make friends with a person they don’t know, no matter what this person’s gender, ethnicity or religion is. Make them play with other children. This way your child will start communicating easily and will become more tolerant.
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Author Bio: Jessica Conars’ big love is her family. She works for Maida Vale tenancy cleaning and she finds free time to write articles.
