Children are very observant individuals they notice what we
do not as adults at times both the good and bad. With that being said I can
think of a dew times personally as well as professionally that I have heard a
child make a remark that was about another in both a positive or negative
light.
A time that stands out the most was when my oldest daughter
Addy was just about two any woman we saw who was not thin she thought they were
pregnant. I at the time was pregnant with our second child and she had put a
large belly as a sign of pregnancy in women. This was a problem there was a
lady at her center who was heavy and having a difficult time conceiving each
time Addy saw her she would rub her belly and say, “a baby in your belly”. I
remember the lady crying or showing anger toward Addy as this happened. I of
course felt horrible each encounter. Generally, when this happened the person
would ignore of laugh and say no if they were not. It took tie and lots of the
best possible conversations I could to break Addy of this. She did not mean
harm, yet infertility is difficult to face for some.
I remember being worried that the message would be sent to Addy
that baby bellies were a bad thing. The teacher was in her classroom in the
evening when Addy would be there later than usual. I did not want her to
associate having a baby as a negative thing.
I remember suggesting to the teachers lead in the classroom
that she should incorporate a story about differences in people’s appearance. Celebrating
differences in culture as well as appearance is important to begin at a young
age (Derman-Sparks, 2010). We are all different and using books or songs can
deliver messages to children without them knowing. At such a young age, it was
difficult for her to learn the difference, but it was a learning experience for
when we were pregnant with our third child and our second was young.
Reference
Derman-Sparks,
L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. I love the fact that you suggested that the teacher read a story to teach the children about differences in people's appearances. Doing this will allow children to learn more about diversity.
Angela
What a difficult time it must have been for you trying to be sensitive to your daughter as well as those she spoke to. I think it was awesome you suggested to the teacher to read books about what makes us different. Children only ask questions and make sense out of their world by experience.
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