In recent times, diversity has become a sort of trend. While the attention given the topic is important for driving awareness, it can also be dangerous as the subject matter becomes something that tends to be more talked about than actually implemented. 

Diversity only becomes effective when it leaves our conversations, and is instead a fundamental part of our lives. In a lot of ways, this implementation can start with the way we raise our children. A diverse mindset stems from genuine thoughtfulness, and this thoughtfulness comes from an open imagination and awareness of others. 

There could be a significant shift and fundamental implementation of diversity in the day to day life if we work diligently to encourage this form of thinking and inclusion in the future generations. Below are four areas and ideas to which we can encourage diversity, thoughtfulness, and imagination among children. 

Books

According to experts, when adults actively engage in reading to children in a way that implements open story discussion, allows for open ended questions, and provides active explanation of the meaning of words and features of print, they can promote language development, story content comprehension, and better understanding of language. Books are an essential foundation for a child's overall development. When parents encourage children to engage in books that offer diversity, it can open up the opportunity for dialogue with the child, as well as encourage thought engagement on the subject. When you provide books that engage in diversity, you can help to promote your child’s thoughts beyond the typical surroundings of their particular culture. 

Here Wee Read and Books for Diversity, are both valuable resources for insightful and imaginative children’s books that can really offer a foundational platform for encouraging diversity. 

Games

It is well known that critical and mental engagement is essential to a child’s developmental process. Puzzles and hands-on games encourage mental acuity, critical thinking, and spatial awareness. In addition, this type of engagement offers valuable stress relieving outlets. 

The nature of games on a young and developing mind can offer an incredible platform for encouraging diversity. You can take the initial benefits of this engagement a step further by seeking games and puzzles where characters and subjects introduce aspirational figures of different races, genders, and cultures. 

Arts and Crafts

Creative engagement is a key factor to a child’s development for a variety of fundamental reasons. When you implement diversity topics and strategy into a child’s active arts and crafts time, you are not only encouraging creative engagement, but also, critical thinking inside of this sector of the child’s mind. Art allows a space for both expression and empathy, and therefore the supplies given to this space should allow young creators to represent their world in a way that is inclusive of those who look like them and those who don’t.

When you give kids a creative platform and use the space to encourage diversity, some really cool and meaningful creations can come out of it. You can encourage this by providing your kids the resources for inclusion including diverse crayons and multicultural construction paper.

Bandages

Many of you know the story of how TruColour Bandages came to be, however, for those of you who are new to our story, on a September afternoon in 2013, our founder, Toby Meisenheimer, reached for the first aid kit after his son had tripped and taken a tumble during his backyard adventures. When applying the standard tan bandage to his son’s knee, Toby noticed the tone loosely matched his own skin, but the contrast was distinct between the bandage and his son’s skin. A typical late fall scenario for any parent became a revelation for Toby. As an adoptive father, this moment was more than an instance to treat a scratch and crocodile tears. It was a chance to affirm and celebrate his son’s identity as a dark-skinned male. He wanted his child to know his individuality and skin tone was no mistake—this was his world too.

Over the years, we have found that there is something so meaningful to be achieved when demonstrating the uniqueness and beauty of skin tone in something as human as a minor injury. There is no mistake here. Among the choices of Peppa Pig and superheros, a child should also be able to choose a bandage that represents their unique skin tone. This seemingly minor representation, can have a huge and compounding effect on a child’s self esteem and imagination for inclusion and diversity.  

We have proudly been introducing this inclusion and diversity-driven way of thinking to the field of first aid by creating this product since 2014.