Believe it or not, what makes multicultural households stand out in the crowd, can also become a deal-breaker if not taken care of. The challenge is to establish and maintain that environment. Trust me, it isn’t that tough especially when you put the right efforts in the right direction. Having multicultural people in schools and workplaces is one thing, and to raise children in multicultural family creating an inclusive culture is another. To take care of the latter one, you need to make sure to incorporate these ways to create an inclusive culture in multicultural family.
Ways to create inclusive culture to raise children in multicultural family
1. Building cultural tolerance
This for sure is the first step to even begin living in a peaceful multicultural home. You have to be tolerant of others’ cultures, including certain beliefs, values, rituals, etc., and respect for what they have grown with and expect the same in return. Small things like not liking a family member being vegetarian or non-vegetarian, dressing in certain attire, etc., often count as a trivial thing that leads to disputes. The only way to deal with such things is to build resistance. Be more tolerable. Happily accept the difference that you share with one another.
2. Celebrate all cultures equally
While acknowledging your differences is the first step, celebrating them is a step forward towards creating an inclusive culture. Being culturally different means having different beliefs, customs, practices, and whatnot. And the best way to do it is to celebrate other customs and festivals with the same enthusiasm as your own. It’s okay to step out of your comfort zone and study about them, talk to them, basically everything, to let the other person know that you genuinely are interested in making efforts to build that inclusive culture. Believe it or not, a major part of your job will be done this way as this will make the other person step in and do the same for you.
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3. Respecting all cultures
You can never incorporate an inclusive multicultural family if you don’t treat two cultures equally. For instance, marriage is supposed to be an amalgamation of two different cultures. In contrast, it is a common practice where in-laws often tell brides to adapt to new customs and traditions and leave behind what they used to do earlier because that is how things work in their house. When celebrities couples like Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas had two different marriage ceremonies, some people might argue that it wasn’t necessary. Still, the couple established a strong beginning of having an inclusive multicultural family. Well, that’s just one thing. The bottom line was to eliminate the idea of one culture being more dominant and that all cultures are equally rich in their history and traditions. Therefore, cultural immersion is another important thing you need to put forth to depict respect for all cultures.
4. Break the biases
Every culture has its own set of rules, no matter how big or small. No matter how progressive, someone still might have orthodox views on gender stereotypes. This could include a man doing household chores or women taking the lead in everything, from the basic decisions to being the breadwinner of the family. Now, these are sensitive topics that need slow and steady treatment. What you can do is keep your cultures aside for a while and take decisions based on what is right and wrong. Sometimes it becomes important to keep cultures away so that it doesn’t cloud your vision from certain things to ensure that it’s more intact in the long run.
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5. Don’t dominate the other culture
You might be confused if such dominance is even real. Well, yes, it is. But it is often unnoticed since it creeps as small habits. Picture this, couples who speak two different languages have a kid, and the kid is taught one language as their mother tongue. Now there could be reasons that might be genuine such as since there are more members in the house with similar language, it’s more convenient for the child. Often sticking to such conveniences is not the sign of nurturing a multicultural environment. At times, these things aren’t even deliberate attempts, and there is nothing wrong only if they don’t hamper your attempts to curate the kind of environment you want to build.
6. Elevate the exposure
Sometimes, we don’t realize how great we are until someone praises us or when we find ourselves sharing similar traits with someone already successful in a certain thing. Well, positive validation does help. You will be surprisingly happy to find neighbors, friends or colleagues living in multicultural family. And you might just realize that they have been pulling it off effortlessly. While this helps you to learn a lot from them, you also stamp out the feeling of being left alone. So, allow yourself to look forward to such interactions.
7. Welcoming uncomfortable conversations
Well, you might not realize the cultural gap until you have a kid at home, or more precisely, a school-going kid. Questions like why don’t we do a certain thing at our home like my friends, or why their paternal and maternal families are so different will be common. Now, instead of convincing yourself that it’s not an age-appropriate conversation or something like that, open up to them. Be very frank about why they are different and how they should embrace such diversity. Ever heard of the saying, uncomfortable situations that break you, make you. Well, it implies here as well. Don’t shove away if your kids have questions. Don’t be embarrassed because inclusive culture might not be common in society.
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8. Practice what you preach
Children attain maximum learning through observation. And thus, every big or small action of yours causes consequences. If you create a picture of social hierarchy or status difference, your kids will catch that. The way you treat your neighbors or colleagues gets reflected a lot through children as their multiculturalism exists prominently. So next time when you interact with them, treat them equally, irrespective of their background.
Conclusion: Raise children in multicultural family
To have a thriving multicultural family, you just need to take small care of day-to-day things. A rule book doesn’t work here. The reality behind such heterogenous households practicing inclusive culture is that they are willing to make efforts. This includes both small and big efforts to achieve that inclusivity, and trust me it’s not that tough.
