As a parent, it is our goal to see our kids have good knowledge and respect for their culture and community. It is only natural to make them aware of the other cultures as well. The world is full of different cultures and communities and we want our children to embrace and respect them as we do. These goals will help them nurture them towards being a good person. By teaching them the importance of environmental sustainability, human rights, and other communities, you are also instilling good personalities, empathy, and curiosity.
Here are some ways in which you can raise your kid to be a global citizen.
1. Go Green!
It is never too late to start opting for a sustainable lifestyle. When it comes to kids, we want the best for them. Choosing the right kind, clean food options can be the start. Have more meatless days. Encourage kids to have more vegetables. Teach them to use other important sustainable alternatives to plastic. Pick at least 10 pieces of litter with them everyday, explaining to them the importance of cleanliness. Instruct them about recycling and reusing.
2. Work On Core Values
To become a global citizen, a person has to be compassionate and make efforts to understand other people. Promoting curiosity in a child towards understanding and having knowledge about other people also helps. Do not demotivate or shun them down when they appear to ask questions. Instead, explain it and point out the similarities. Empathy and curiosity go hand in hand.
3. Explore other communities, their culture, food, and traditions
Set goals for traveling at least once a year with family. This helps the kids to experience different cultures and traditions practically. They also get to try a variety of food and talk to different people during the travel. This increases their curiosity and respect for the place. They tend to accept it and learn to adjust to foreign surroundings. This only enriches their experience.
4. Read Books
Sometimes you don’t have to go that far to teach kids about different cultures. A good book will do the job. Or maybe two to three books. There is so much to cover and learn when it comes to the diverse world. You can tell your kids about the remotest place and tribes that exist in the world through a book. Movies also help a lot in imparting this kind of knowledge.
5. Teach A Foreign Language
“Language is a roadmap of a culture.”
Encourage and learn at least one foreign language with your kid. Learning a second language helps them in a lot of ways such as keeping their brain sharp and improving their listening skills. It also improves their knowledge about different cultures as literature unlocks a lot of secrets that a culture has to offer. Literature also gives way to art, music, and eventually the lifestyle. A person connects better to the culture through language.
Children have an amazing ability to grasp and absorb. Get started today. By encouraging them to form this new respect for other cultures you will help them to become true and better global citizens of the world.