Is it the Right Time to Instill DEI Values at Home?
Setting kids up for a successful life.
The answer to the title of this article is a very emphatic YES! Here’s why.
Attacks on Common Sense
As ultra conservatives continue their mind-boggling (money-backed) crusades against common sense, the case for instilling DEI values at home gets stronger and stronger.
Basically, attacks on DEI are attacks on reality. Explaining the truth about slavery, who really ‘discovered’ America, and that everyone has a right to be who they are, is just reality. Pure and simple.
Does reality really matter though? Of course it does! It’s a crucial part of equipping the next generation with the practical information they need to succeed in life.
Children’s Books and Parent Involvement
Here’s more reasoning for teaching DEI values at home.
Most modern parents agree that teaching kids about diversity and inclusion is important to their development. As kids grow into the real world, it’s essential for them to be knowledgeable about cultures outside of their own.
But in an inexplicable attempt to thwart reality, ultra conservatives are banning books that could potentially educate young minds about diverse cultures and social justice.
C’mon. Really?
Thankfully, despite the banned-books absurdity, open-minded parents can still go online or walk into any bookstore and select children’s books about diversity for their kids. That’s a good thing.
Here’s the deal though. At the end of the day when kids are home from school, the dinner/homework/bath routine is done, and the last page of the latest diversity children’s book is read, there will be a slew of burning unanswered questions. It’s just what kids do. It’s how they learn.
Guess who needs to answer those burning questions. Yep parents. Then no doubt the answers will evolve into days-long household discussions about what’s fair and what isn’t fair.
And it’s parents again who will be having follow-up conversations, deciphering mixed messages, adjusting household routines, and fielding a seemingly endless barrage of questions.
Essentially, it’s parents who will be shaping the values of the next generation.
Morals Matter
For most of us, it’s hard to ignore the brutal life experiences of marginalized people. Getting shot for ringing the wrong doorbell or getting denied medical care because your outside parts don’t match your inside feelings is just plain harsh.
It’s our job as parents to both weed out the ugly details of those life experiences and also convey the urgent need to respect everyone. It’s a delicate balancing act for sure, but an important one.
Otherwise, the next generation could potentially follow the far right and persecute people just because they’re different.
Dr. Derrick Gay, a respected diversity and inclusion strategist, tells us parents who don’t try to instill DEI values are doing a disservice to their children.
“For parents it’s not, ‘It’d be great if you do this work,’ it’s, ‘If you don’t engage in this work, this is not in the best interest of your child now and certainly not in the best interest of your child moving forward,’ because they are always going to be interacting with people from different backgrounds. If they can’t interact with, feel comfortable with, communicate with, respect and empathize with people who are not only similar to them but also different, that’s not going to strategically position them for success moving forward,” Gay said.
Kids need parents to consistently guide them toward compassion for other humans. It doesn’t just happen on its own.
So again, is it the right time to teach DEI values at home? Yes! Yes! And yes!
This article was originally published on DEI for Parents.
