Printer-friendly versionDuring the preschool years you have perhaps the greatest impact on your child's perceptions and attitudes about difference than at any other time during her childhood.
The manner in which you treat and discuss others based on similarity and difference - and the manner in which you respond to your child's natural curiosity about these matters - provides the blueprint for her reactions to them.
Biases that you and other adults convey, both positive and negative, tell her who is safe and who is dangerous, who is strong and who is weak, who is beautiful and who is ugly. These messages have the power to turn her "how" and "why" questions into judgment statements. Left unchecked, such judgments can become precursors to poor self-esteem and social interactions based on prejudice or bias.
Too often, we label children's questions and observations about differences as impolite. Rather than seizing them as teachable moment, we ignore or discourage such remarks because they make us uneasy. But seizing these moments as learning opportunities can help your child get past stereotypes and prejudicial images and into a deeper understanding of the world around her.
