Based on the interests of my blog followers, I have decided to create a more targeted blog hybrid parenting. Hybrid Parenting helps parents raise children in our multicultural world. For more information please see What is hybrid parenting?
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In Hinduism, the cow is sacred because it is a symbol of the earth. The cow provides an abundance of nourishment. The cow gives milk without asking for anything in return. The cow represents life and sustaining life.
Filed under Education, Parenting, Research & More, Teaching
Some Asian Indians wear a dot or bindi on their forehead. When dressing up, it is similar to wearing jewelry or accessories. It is a way to decorate the forehead and it comes in many colors and shapes.
In Hinduism, the bindi or dot is placed between the eyebrows to signify the “third eye.” The third eye represents wisdom and concentration. Many individuals who meditate focus their sight on the area between the eyebrows to help them concentrate. In addition, wearing the bindi reminds individuals that having a strong mind can help you make the right decisions in life.
The color of the bindi also has different meanings associated with it. Traditionally, women wore red bindis to represent honor, love and wealth.
Rakhi or Raksh Bandhan
What is Rakhi?
Rakhi is the tie or knot of protection. It is a Hindu festival that celebrates the special bond between brothers and sisters with bracelets made of thread. It is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. It is celebrated in India, Mauritius, and parts of Nepal and Pakistan.
When is Rakhi?
Rakhi is celebrated in August every year. The exact date is not known because this celebration is based on the lunar calendar. Each year, Hindus figure out the exact date of Rakhi by observing the cycles of the moon.
Why is Rakhi celebrated?
Some historic legends point to the Rajput Queens who use to send Rakhi threads to their neighboring rulers who were like brothers to them. The brothers would receive this thread and vow to protect them.
One story is about a Queen (Rani Karnavati) who was widowed and realized that she could not defend her country against the invasion of Bahadur Shah, a Sultan from Gujarat (a state in India). She sent a Rakhi to the Emperor Humayun. When the Emperor saw the Rakhi, he was touched by her heartfelt gesture. He immediately started off with troops to protect her.
How is Rakhi celebrated?
All family members gather in front of a lighted lamp (diya) to watch sisters do a special prayer for their brothers well-being; pray for their brothers’ health, wealth and happiness. Brothers promise to protect their sisters. Sisters tie a thread on their brothers to symbolize the special bond they have with one another.
The tie is also the “knot of protection” because brothers promise to protect their sisters on this day. They end the celebration with sisters giving Indian sweets to their brother and brothers offer gifts to their sisters.
How can I teach my children about Rakhi?
1. Talk to children about India. Show them where India is on a map and address any questions or misconceptions they may have about India or Indians.
2. Ask children if they have heard of “Rakhi” or seen thread tied to boys or mens hands before? Provide them with the background information above.
3. Make personal connections through experiences they may have already had: Did your child ever make a friendship bracelet? What was this for? What does it mean for someone to get a friendship bracelet? Talk about bracelet being a symbol of friendship, trusting one another, being there for one another in good times and bad.
4. Extend your child’s understanding by creating a homemade Rakhi for your brother, cousin, or someone you think is like a brother to you. Provide them with opportunities to have cross-cultural experiences by preparing simple Indian sweets.
5. Have a Rakhi celebration in your home by exchanging any type of bracelets (thread, rainbow loom, etc.) between siblings and don’t forget to say Happy Rakhi!
Multicultural competence is the ability to understanding, effectively interact, and communicate with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Children need to acknowledge that how they perceive the world may be different from how others’ perceive the world. This is based on their “lens” or how they are positioned in society (e.g.,race, ethnicity, culture, gender, or sexuality.)
In order to develop tolerance and respect this difference, children need to have knowledge about the diversity that exists. Hybrid parenting is the idea that parents are consciously raising children in a multicultural world. Through hybrid parenting, parents are naturally fostering multicultural competence and tolerance in their children.
Through hybrid parenting, parents raise children to acknowledge, appreciate, and embrace diverse cultures. Children are not just living in a diverse world, but in a multicultural world that allows for them to gain tolerance and respect for others. Hybrid parents raise children can effectively communicate and interact with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
What is Diwali?
Diwali is known as the Hindu Festival of lights. It is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji.
When is Diwali?
Diwali is celebrated during the fall season for five consecutive days. It is usually celebrated between mid-October and mid-November. Originally, it was the harvest before the winter season. The exact date is not known because this celebration is based on the lunar calendar. Each year, Hindus figure out the exact date of Diwali my observing the cycles of the moon.
Why is Diwali celebrated?
Diwali is an important festival for Hindus. Hindus celebrate the day when Lord Rama came home after he won a battle against the demon king Ravana. Diwali is also the birthday of the Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth.
It is celebrated as a special time to remember that: light overcomes darkness, good overcomes evil, and knowledge overcomes ignorance.
Diwali also has religious significance in Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
How is Diwali celebrated?
Diwali celebrations, rituals, and ceremonies vary based on the region of India a family comes from. In general, Indian families may clean and decorate their house with Rangoli designs. They dress up in new clothes and light lamps inside and outside their house. They exchange presents with one another. They do a special prayer for Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. They end the celebration with fireworks and sweets.
How Can I Teach My Children About Diwali?
1. Talk to children about India. Show them where India is on a map and address any questions or misconceptions they may have about India or (Asian) Indians.
2. Activate background knowledge. Ask children if they have heard of Diwali before? Provide them with the background information above.
3. Make Connections. The book Lighting a Lamp provides all children with an understanding of how Indian families celebrate Diwali in their homes.
4. Extend your child’s understanding by providing them with opportunities to have cross-cultural experiences by creating Rangoli designs, making or decorating clay lamps, or trying Indian sweets.
5. Participate in a Diwali Celebration in your community or celebrate by taking the family out to an Indian dinner.
Filed under Education, Parenting, Research & More, Teaching
Diversity is defined as the differences between people. Diversity can be real or perceived differences between people. These differences include but are not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic status. In a diverse world, people acknowledge the differences that exist among individuals.
Multiculturalism is more complex than simply noticing the diversity or differences that exist in the society. Multiculturalism focuses on being inclusiveness, understanding, respecting, and acknowledging unequal power in society. Furthermore, people are aware of the advantages or disadvantages of being a particular, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or socioeconomic status is society. In a multicultural world, people accept and embrace the differences of others into their lives.
The other day, I walked into my 12-month old daughter’s doctor’s appointment and was thrilled to be handed a children’s book! My daughter also enthusiastically started pointing and saying “boo” “boo”! Before my pediatrician needed to do her spiel on why books are so important for babies, I told her about my daughter’s frequent visits to our “reading center.” My daughter loves going to a special place in our house to point out books that she wants read to her. Her favorite books right now are “peek-a-boo” and “nursery rhyme” books.
Since my son was born, we have had a “reading center” in every apartment, town home, or home we have lived in. My son was born in a one-bedroom apartment in New York—-yet, even there I was able to carve out a nook (or rather a cranny!) for reading. Currently, we live in the suburbs and are afforded more space for reading. Our reading center is in the corner of our living room and features a comfy, big Costco bear, a beanbag, pillows, blankets, and cases of age-appropriate books. I love being able to say “book” to my daughter and watch her crawl over to her space.
Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced the importance of reading to babies. As an educator, I have known about the importance of reading to babies for brain development, and more specifically, for oral language development and early literacy skills. However, I realize that not every parent has the knowledge, time or resources to read to their child. Many articles point to socio-economic class being the differentiating factor between whether or not children are read to from a young age. Unfortunately, the research shows that children from high socio-economic families know 30 million more words than children from low socio-economic families by the age of three.
It is interesting to note that while the majority of this word gap can be attributed to socio-economic class, I also believe that culture influences whether or not a child is a read to at home. From my experiences, it wasn’t class but culture that dictated whether reading was prioritized in my family. Growing up, I don’t recall my parents reading children’s books with me and discusses the motivations of the main character in the book. Rather, we had “math time” where my father and I would sit down to work out math problems together. Researchers have found that many Asian American families prioritize math because there is always a right answer. First generation immigrant parents feel that their children will naturally learn English because they live in a English-speaking country and are exposed to it everyday. As a result of prioritizing math and the sciences, the research has found that many Asian American children struggle with oral language skills. Many Asian Americans pursue careers in the math and the sciences, because they don’t have the confidence that they need to excel in other subject areas. I believe this discussion on reading to babies needs to address the “knowledge gap” when it comes to making sure all cultural groups are aware of the importance of reading (and talking) to infants and children.
Furthermore, while the AAP recommends reading books to children, hybrid parents want to know what types of books they should be reading to children that allow for them to meet the cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic and cultural needs of their children. For hybrid parents, the discussion of reading to infants needs to address what their infants are being exposed to and what they are not being exposed to. It’s not just about the quantity of books that we read to our children but about the quality of books.
In my Child and Adolescent Development courses at San Jose State, we discuss how to meet the developmental needs of infants. Infants typically develop object permanence by six months of age. Object permanence is this idea that objects are permanent and even when a object cannot be seen, it is still there. When something is hidden, infants know it still exists and that excites them—-because just a month ago they thought that object was gone forever. You also want to make sure you have books that are related to sensory development. Infants love books that engage their five senses. Things they can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear such as Pat the Bunny.
Infants also use social referencing to make sense of the world. What this means is that they will look to you when they are trying to make sense of a new situation. If they are meeting Grandma for the first time, your reaction will help them figure out if this is someone they can trust. If they fall for the first time, your positive or negative reaction will cue them into how they should respond about falling.
Books can also help infants make sense of their diverse world. Books can expose infants to people of different races or ethnicities as well as cultural experiences that they may not encounter until later in life. Research shows that infants will look longer at an unfamiliar face (such as someone who is from a different race) than someone from the same race as them (Katz and Kofkin, 1997). With more diverse books (#colormyshelf), infants can start to become more familiar with the diverse world that we live in.
Top 10 Categories of Books for Infants Cognitive, Social, Emotional, Linguistic and Cultural Needs
References
Katz, P. A., & Kofkin, J. A. (1997). Race, gender, and young children. In S. S. Luthar & J. A. Burack (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Perspectives on adjustment, risk, and disorder (pp. 51–74). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Hybridity is a term that has been synonymous to mixture. The term hybridity can also be used to develop an understanding of how cultures mix together in society and how they have an influence on one another (Bhabha, 1994). Hybrid parents understand the complexities and nuances of parenting in a multicultural world. They understand the ways in which race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, and sexuality influence who we are and how we perceive the world.
Hybrid parents are parents who are consciously raising children in a multicultural world. Hybrid parents want their children to be critically aware of the diverse world that they live in and they want their children to develop multicultural competence. Multicultural competence is the ability to understand, effectively communicate, and interact with people from diverse cultures. With this understanding, children realize that they live in a pluralistic society in which their are multiple ways to approach a topic, issue, or problem. Through hybrid parenting, children will have a better understanding of who they are in the world.
Parents are the primary source of information when it comes to educating children about cultures. Schools are limited in what they can or can’t teach. When parents know more about diversity, they can teach more about race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender and sexuality to their children. Hybrid parenting.org (coming soon) provides parents with the knowledge and resources that they may need to develop multicultural competence in their children.
Critical thinking is a buzzword that is often used by educators. So what exactly is it and how can we teach it to our children? Simply put, critical thinking is often described as open-ended, complex thinking. It allows for children to have different interpretations and perspectives on a topic, issue, or problem. This is an extremely important skill for children to have in the 21st century, as we will be preparing them for jobs that may not exist today.
Educators often use Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy to engage children in critical thinking activities. The lower-level thinking activities often have to do with recalling facts or retelling stories (e.g., knowledge, comprehension). This leads children to believe that there is only one right answer to a problem. The higher-level thinking activities are more open-ended and may explore a character’s motivation in the story. The teacher may choose to compare and contrast two different versions of a story (e.g., analysis, synthesis).
Parents can also do this at home. For example, most children have heard the classic story of the three little pigs. However, have all children heard the wolf’s side of the story? The wolf’s perspective of this story can be found in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Another example would be the classic tale of Cinderella. Children can also gain exposure to the Chinese Cinderella, Egyptian Cinderella, Indian Cinderella, French Cinderella, Indonesian Cinderella, Mexican Cinderella, or Middle Eastern Cinderella. By reading a diverse set of Cinderella stories, parents can promote higher-level thinking skills for children by analyzing the similarities and differences in the stories. Children can identify how elements of the story can be different (e.g., each country’s unique culture) but how the plot is still able to achieve the same purpose.
Parents should also ask questions that promote critical thinking at home. Rather than asking your child for the right answer, ask more open-ended questions. Teaching children about diverse cultures is one way parents can make sure children are learning how to think critically about diverse issues, topics, and perspectives. When children begin to understand that their point of view is not the only point of view—-they begin to realize that there are multiple ways to see the world. From this vantage point, children will learn to search for multiple ways to engage in complex problems that they may encounter in life.
For example, take the issues of when culture intersects with gender. In the United States, children are taught about gender-equality and how women and men should be treated equally. Women should not be oppressed or exploited. However, what happens when a culture dictates that women and men have different roles in society? What happens when their culture states that women and men should be treated differently? In some cultures (e.g., South Asian American), women can bring honor or shame to their family based on what they do in society. Thus, in these cultures there are more limits placed on women. Furthermore, in the United States which is a individualistic culture, children are taught that they should make decisions on their own interests, needs, or desires. However, in collectivistic cultures (e.g., Asian, Hispanic, Native-American) children are taught to think about how their decisions will influence family member. They are also taught to make decisions by respecting the wishes of their family members.
Through these types of questions, children learn to critically think through topics, issues, and perspectives. Diversity is complex and children will learn how to reason through these issues by looking at both worldviews: They will learn how the skill of reasoning can be applied from their point of view and from another person’s point of view. They will learn how to understand another person’s viewpoint, even if it is not their own. According to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy, this is the highest level of critical thinking, evaluation—when a child can form an opinion and make judgments about the various ideas, interpretations, and perspectives that exist in society.
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