Diversity?

[AmandaKDT]

I can understand this dc mom in a way. My kids are biracial and when I had them in daycare I looked for a daycare with a mix of races/ethnicities. I felt it was important for them not to feel different or singled out during those early formative years when kids build their self-esteem and sense of self etc. I also worried about discriminatory comments being made, even unintentionally, by the provider or family or the other kids or my kids being made to feel different. It is often totally unintentional...a remark about their skin colour or their hair, etc...but can have lasting effects on a child and become part of how they see themselves. I am not saying you, Fun & Care, have made any such remarks or anything like that, but only that I can see where the mom is coming from. Racism is often very subtle, but all the little comments and remarks become part of the child's self image and the child begins to see himself/herself as different. Even small things like not seeing themselves reperesented in any dolls, books, posters, colouring sheets, etc can have a big impact.

Yes, my girls constantly have strangers commenting on their hair and then often trying to touch it without asking first, which just makes them stand out as being different and a curiousity. These people don't realize they are the hundredth person to do so, and that it affects my girls' self image. So when they are around my husband's family or other biracial/black kids it is nice that they do not stand out. This is so hard to describe exactly how it feels, but having that sense of wholy belonging is such a good feeling.