Printer-friendly version- Review your books and curriculum materials, and make sure they include many kinds of families, not merely those with one mom and one dad.
- Take gender out of playtime. Make sure all children feel welcome to play with dress-up clothes, kitchen sets, tools or trucks. Avoid sending the message that girls and women do the cooking, and boys and men play sports and fix things.
- Check your school forms and parental paperwork—are the spaces labeled “Mom” and “Dad”? A simple change to “Parent or Guardian” is an easy way to make a big difference.
- Read your school’s anti-bullying policy. Does it explicitly protect sexual orientation and gender identity? If not, advocate for this crucial change—GLSEN’s 2008 study found that anti-bullying policies without this explicit language are often no better than no policy at all.
- Consider how you talk with children about their families. Instead of saying, “Show this to your mom and dad,” consider alternatives like “Show this to your grown-up(s) at home.”
- Challenge the assumption that every child has straight parents, married parents or biological parents. “A lot of kids with two moms or two dads live in a divorced family, with step-siblings,” reminds teacher and mom Michele Hatchell. “LGBT families are just like other families, with the same ups and downs. The more sensitive teachers can be to that, the better.”
- Conduct an in-service training to make sure everyone at your school is on the same page.
