Teaching tolerance to children

Tolerance is an attitude which teaches individuals to respect the differences in culture and people. The concept goes beyond religious, traditional and racial differences, it is also about accepting people with gender differences and people with disabilities.

Tolerance in not just about accepting different behaviour, but is about accepting people for who they are. Teaching tolerance to children will prepare young people for more opportunities and bring more happiness into their personal lives.

Why do we need to teach tolerance to our kids?
We are surrounded by differences in ethnicity, religion, culture, gender, disabilities and other differences. We want our kids to feel at ease to live in a multicultural society. They can learn bundles from these differences, and bring new ideas, experiences and energy into their lives. Tolerance can lead to success in business, education, travel, lifestyle and other areas of life.

Here are a few tips for how to teach tolerance to your kids:

Watch what you say about yourself!
Display openness and respect in your actions by demonstrating empathy and compassion through your words and actions. Treat others with respect and your child will learn from you. Negative comments about yourself can lead a child to make judgments about people in the world around him or her.

Encourage self-confidence
A child who is confident is more likely to embrace differences and value it in others. Kids who do feel good about themselves tend to be more courteous towards others.

Teach them about traditions
Explore other religious celebrations that are outside of your family's traditions and comfort zone. Experiencing a new and different environment will broaden their world-view and will help them understand the differences among the people in the world.

Deal about differences respectfully
Talk about differences among your family and friends and about the positive aspects of people being different. Help your kids feel values and accept the qualities of each member within your own family.

Respond to your child's questions respectfully
Some of your child's questions can be hard, and not answering them can teach a child that it is not okay to talk about differences. Your child is old enough to notice differences, so it is perfectly okay to discuss them with your kids in a honest and respectful way.

Parents' tolerance level, naturally teaches their kids the same, as kids observe and imitate parents even before they can speak. Parents who display tolerance in their actions teach their kids to be tolerant to differences too. Model these behaviours, because kids will mostly follow in your footsteps.