Diversity

Building Cultural Identity In Children

Building Cultural Identity In Children

om the moment parents find out a baby is on the way, we make an endless number of decisions about how we will care for them. Hours are spent considering whether to breast-feed or formula feed, use cloth diapers or disposable, or who will care for the child while parents work. The discussion on what it means to raise a Jewish, Black, or Latino child in American culture often does not occur until much later. Whether a family is actively part of one cultural group or religion, an interfaith family or minimally connected to a religious or cultural group, the choices about how we want to include culture in family life should be deliberate and intentional.How do we, as parents, help our children develop cultural identity?

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Raising Culturally Aware Children

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Raising Culturally Aware Children

As a social worker, I thought I was pretty aware of the various “isms” that run deep in our society, from outward acts of discrimination to institutionalized oppression. As a Jewish woman, I am also part of a minority group, but not one that is visible from the outside. As I moved toward marriage and parenthood, I specifically chose where I lived because I wanted to be part of a diverse community.