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Grace Byers's book, I Am Enough, is an inspirational children's book about loving ourselves for being unique while being kind and respectful to others that are unique in their way. The book's illustrations share the beauty of being a positive and confident individual through a multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-ability lens.

Title: I Am Enough

Author: Grace Byers

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Copyright: 2018

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Elmo and his friends sing about celebrating our unique identities as we stand together against racism. The video encourages children to advocate when they witness an injustice.

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I Am Somebody (Giant Song) | #ComingTogether

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Elisabeth Estrada’s book, I Choose to Speak Up, is a children’s book about advocating for oneself and others in the face of bias, prejudice, and racism. The story uses real-world scenarios that are relevant and relatable to the experiences of young children.

Title: I Choose to Speak Up

Author: Elisabeth Estrada

Publisher: Self Published

Copyright: 2021

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Elmo and his friends sing about standing up and advocating against prejudice and racism. Elmo and his friends sing about standing up and advocating against prejudice and racism. The video encourages children to advocate when they witness an injustice.

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Sesame Street: How to be an Upstander to Racism Song | #ComingTogether

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Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw’s book, Same, Same but Different, is a children’s story about a little boy in the United States that becomes pen-pals with a little boy in India. The story teaches children that we are remarkably similar while our lives may differ vastly.

Title: Same, Same but Different

Author: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Copyright: 2011

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Dot Exercise – Unlearning: Breaking Bias. Building Community

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Dot Exercise – Unlearning: Breaking Bias. Building Community

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The Dot Exercise places a colored sticker on each student’s forehead and then asks them to group themselves. The students group themselves by sticker color while inadvertently forcing a few students to stand alone. The experiment explores unconscious bias and helps the children understand the importance of being inclusive.

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NCCJ - The National Conference for Community and Justice

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Dot Exercise - Unlearning: Breaking Bias. Building Community.

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum

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The National Association for the Education of Young Children offers four critical goals in implementing anti-bias education into the early childhood curriculum to help support children’s self-identity, understanding of diversity, recognition of injustice, and encourages children to advocate for each other. The article also offers sample scenarios for child-initiated and adult-initiated activities that families can use.

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Anti-bias education is not just doing occasional activities about diversity and fairness topics (although that may be how new anti-bias educators begin). To be effective, anti-bias education works as an underpinning perspective, which permeates everything that happens in an early childhood program-including your interactions with children, families and coworkers-and shapes how you put curriculum together each day.

This article is an excerpt of the second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards. An NAEYC bestseller, this book helps early childhood educators fulfill their mission of helping all children reach their full potential. The new edition-with major updates to all chapters, including gender identity-will be available early in 2020.

The four core goals of anti-bias education

Four core goals provide a framework for the practice of anti-bias education with children. Grounded in what we know about how children construct identity and attitudes, the goals help you create a safe, supportive learning community for every child. They support children's development of a confident sense of identity without needing to feel superior to others; an ease with human diversity; a sense of fairness and justice; the skills of empowerment; and the ability to stand up for themselves or for others.

Goal 1: Identity

Teachers will nurture each child's construction of knowledgeable, confident, individual personal and social identities.

Children will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.

This goal means supporting children to feel strong and proud of who they are without needing to feel superior to anyone else. It means children will learn accurate, respectful language to describe who they and others are. Teachers will support children to develop and be comfortable within their home culture and within the school culture. Goal 1 is the starting place for all children, in all settings.

Adding to early childhood education's long-term commitment to nurturing each child's individual, personal identity, anti-bias education emphasizes the important idea of nurturing children's social (or group) identities. Social identities relate to the significant group categorizations of the society in which we grow up and live and which individuals share with many others. Social identities include (but are not limited to) gender, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and economic class groups. (In the forthcoming book, social identity is described in detail in Chapter 2.) A strong sense of both individual and group identities is the foundation for the three other core anti-bias goals.

Goal 2: Diversity

Teachers will promote each child's comfortable, empathetic interaction with people from diverse backgrounds.

Children will express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring connections across all dimensions of human diversity.

This goal means guiding children to be able to think about and have words for how people are the same and how they are different. It includes helping children feel and behave respectfully, warmly, and confidently with people who are different from themselves. It includes encouraging children to learn both about how they are different from other children and about how they are similar. These are never either/or realities because people are simultaneously the same and different from one another. This goal is the heart of learning how to treat all people caringly and fairly.

Some teachers and parents are not sure they should encourage children to "notice" and learn about differences among people. They may think it is best to teach only about how people are the same, worrying that talking about differences causes prejudice. While well intentioned, this concern arises from a mistaken notion about the sources of bias. Differences do not create bias. Children learn prejudice from prejudice -not from learning about human diversity. It is how people respond to differences that teaches bias and fear.

Another misconception about Goal 2 is that exploring differences among people ignores appreciating the similarities. Goal 2 calls for creating a balance between exploring people's differences and similarities. All human beings share similar biological attributes, needs, and rights (e.g., the needs for food, shelter, and love; the commonalities of language, families, and feelings) and people live and meet these shared needs and rights in many different ways. A basic premise in anti-bias education is " We are all the same. We are all different. Isn't that wonderful! "

Goal 3: Justice

Teachers will foster each child's capacity to critically identify bias and will nurture each child's empathy for the hurt bias causes.

Children will increasingly recognize unfairness (injustice), have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.

This goal is about building children's innate, budding capacities for empathy and fairness, as well as their cognitive skills for thinking critically about what is happening around them. It is about building a sense of safety, the sense that everyone can and will be treated fairly.

Learning experiences include opportunities for children to understand and practice skills for identifying unfair and untrue images (stereotypes), comments (teasing, name-calling), and behaviors (isolation, discrimination) directed at themselves or
at others. This includes issues of gender, race, ethnicity, language, disability, economic class, age, body shape, and more. These are early lessons in critical thinking for children, figuring out what they see and hear and testing it against the notions of kindness and fairness.

These lessons build on young children's implicit interest in what is "fair" and "not fair."

As children come to identify unfair experiences and as they learn that unfair can be made fair, children gain an increased sense of their own power in the world. Children cannot construct a strong self-concept, or develop respect for others, if they do not know how to identify and resist hurtful, stereotypical, and inaccurate messages or actions directed toward themselves or others. Developing the ability to think critically strengthens children's sense of self, as well as their capacity to form caring relationships with others.

Goal 4: Activism

Teachers will cultivate each child's ability and confidence to stand up for oneself and for others in the face of bias.

Children will demonstrate a sense of empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

Goal 4 is about giving children tools for learning how to stand up to hurtful and unfair biased behavior based on any aspect of social identity. Biased behavior may be directed at oneself or another. It may come from another child or adult or from children's books, television, and films. This goal strengthens children's development in perspective taking, positive interactions with others, and conflict-resolution education.

Actions of teasing, rejection, and exclusion because of some aspect of a child's social identities are a form of aggressive behavior. They are just as serious as physical aggression. The old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" is false. Children's developing sense of self is hurt by name-calling, teasing, and exclusion based on identity. And children who engage in such hurtful behaviors are learning it is acceptable to hurt others, the earliest form of bullying. An anti-bias approach calls on teachers to intervene gently but firmly, support the child who is the target of the biased behavior, and help both children learn other ways of interacting.

Children's growth on Goal 4 strengthens their growth on the other three goals. If a child is the target of prejudice or discrimination, she needs tools to resist and to know that she has worth (Goal 1). When a child speaks up for another child, it reinforces his understanding of other people's unique feelings (Goal 2). When children are helped to act, it broadens their understanding of "unfairness" and "fairness" (Goal 3).

Guidelines for your curriculum

Just about every subject area in the typical early childhood program has possibilities for anti-bias education themes and activities. For instance, early childhood education themes of self-discovery, family, and community are deeper, and more meaningful, when they include explorations of ability, culture, economic class, gender identity, and racialized identity. So, too, issues of fairness (Goal 3) and acting for fairness (Goal 4) arise as children explore various curriculum topics.

Differences do not create bias. Children learn prejudice from prejudice -not from learning about human diversity. It is how people respond to differences that teaches bias and fear.

The ideas for specific anti-bias education content and activities come from three major sources. One is from children's questions, interests, or interactions with each other that classroom teachers see as important to respond to and develop. Teacher-initiated activities are a second source of anti-bias activities, based on what classroom teachers and families think is important for children to learn. A third source is significant events that occur in the children's communities and the larger world that classroom teachers think need to be explored with children.

Here is an example of an anti-bias education topic at snack time.

It is snack time in the 4-year-old room. The teacher sets a small pitcher of water on the table for children to pour and drink. Lupe, whose home language is Spanish, looks up and asks, "Agua?" Casey, sitting next to her, says with annoyance, "No! It's water-not ahhgwa" (exaggerating the pronunciation). The teacher stops what she is doing and turns to Casey and says, "Lupe is right. What you call 'water' her family calls 'agua.' There are many words for water, for crackers, for oranges, for everything! We all have words. We have different words. It's pretty wonderful!"

At group time, the teacher follows up by asking children about the different words they have for people in their family. As the children call out Grandma, Oma, Pops, Daddy, Papa, Abuelita, and more, she writes them on a chart. She assures them that none of the words are wrong. They are just different. And they all mean someone who loves them.

Meet anti-bias goals in every corner of the classroom

The ongoing examination of how people are simultaneously the same and different provides children with a conceptual framework for thinking about the world they live in. For example, children playing with blocks can learn that although some children like to build tall towers and some like to build long, flat structures on the floor, all the children like to build. Art projects can show enthusiasm and admiration for blacks and browns along with all the other wonderful colors of the spectrum. The common curriculum topic of harvest time can include respecting and making visible the people who grow, pick, and transport our food.

Everyday activities offer opportunities for Goals 3 and 4 as well. Arguments over toys can include discussion of fairness and kindness. Exclusionary play, stereotypes in books, or teasing are experiences open to critical thinking about hurtful behavior and for problem solving toward just solutions.

Planning Anti-Bias Education Activities for Your Program's Curriculum

An anti-bias education approach is not a recipe. Rather, teachers include anti-bias issues in their planning by considering the children and families they serve and the curriculum approach their program uses. Here are key questions to ask yourself as you and your colleagues plan learning activities and environments. Begin by asking yourself these questions for one or two activities a week, and see how they change what you do and how the children respond.

Where do I best fit anti-bias goals and issues into my curriculum plans for the day and the week?

Who might be left out of this curriculum? How will I use the topic to include each child, connecting to the diversity of their social identities and to their individual needs? How can I be sure no one is invisible or unnoticed?

What ideas, misconceptions, and stereotypes might children have about this topic? How can I learn what these are and provide accurate information and counter misinformation and stereotypes?

How can I use this topic to support and strengthen children's innate sense of justice and their capacity to change unfair situations to fair ones?

What learning materials do I need to gather to incorporate an anti-bias perspective into this curriculum topic?

Use child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities

Children's questions, comments, and behaviors are a vital source of anti-bias curriculum. They spark teachable moments as well as longer-term projects. However, it is not sufficient to do anti-bias activities only when a child brings up a relevant issue. Teacher-initiated activities are also necessary-be they intentionally putting out materials and books to broaden children's awareness or planning specific learning experiences around issues that matter to families and the community.

You do not wait for children to open up the topic of reading or numbers before making literacy and numeracy part of the daily early childhood curriculum. Because you have decided that these understandings and skills are essential for children, you provide literacy and numeracy discussions and activities in your classroom. A balance between child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities is as vital in anti-bias education as in any other part of the early childhood curriculum.

Here's an example of how a teacher begins with a children-generated teachable moment and follows up with teacher-initiated activities:

After a windstorm broke dozens of small branches off of the trees surrounding their preschool, several 4- and 5-year-old boys begin building a "club house" by dragging branches and bunches of leaves to a corner in the playground fence. Valeria (4 years old) starts dragging a branch to join them and the boys shout, "No girls allowed! No girls allowed!"

The teacher considers encouraging the boys to welcome their classmate into their play-but then she hesitates. There are larger societal issues embedded in this interaction. As an anti-bias educator, she decides she needs to address the underlying ideas, especially that girls can't or shouldn't engage in play that emphasizes physical strength or that "real boys" don't include girls in their play.

Deciding to find out what the children are thinking, the teacher asks, "Why do you think no girls are allowed?" She listens carefully to the boys' responses: "Girls can't move the big branches." "And they can't build high!" "We're going to be superheroes! Girls can't be heroes." And, finally, "We don't like girls." All these statements reflect commonly held stereotypes about girls. Additionally, she thinks, not seriously addressing the situation reinforces the additional stereotype that boys don't have to pay attention to the feelings of others.

Seeing an opportunity to expand their thinking, the teacher suggests testing these claims. She says, "Well, let's find out if girls can move the big branches and build high or not." Since many of the children are now gathering around, she invites everyone to join in the challenge. "What do you think is going to happen?" she asks. With much laughter the children run and gather branches. Some girls are faster than some boys, some boys are faster than some girls. Everyone is able to add branches to the club house, which is suddenly much higher!

Bringing the children back together, the teacher says, "It looks like both girls and boys can lift big branches and build high. Thinking that boys would be better at these things than girls was a stereotype." Several children repeat the word stereotype (preschoolers love big words!). Still holding their attention, the teacher clarifies and gives words to the program's values: "Stereotypes are unfair. In our school we want everyone to be treated fairly. What can we do so that we can be sure that we play together fairly?" The next steps are suggested by the children. One suggestion is a sign that says "Everyone can play here." "How about," says one of the boys who began this episode, "how about if we want to play alone, we just say 'you can have a turn in a few minutes'?"

Knowing that one interaction is never enough to help children think in new ways, the teacher plans and carries out further activities. She adds to the classroom library books in which female athletes and firefighters are strong and fast. At circle time, she reads books in which girls and boys play together in big muscle games. She invites a female carpenter in to help the children build with real tools. And she begins a curriculum on "Being a hero," about all the ways boys and girls can be powerful helpers.

In the next staff meeting, the teacher relates what she has done and is planning to do, and why. She asks her colleagues to consider the frequency of gendered exclusionary play in the program and they agree to take the important step of identifying how (explicitly and implicitly) they may be supporting a binary view of gender (see Chapter 9 in the forthcoming book) in their classroom. For example, how often do they call out "boys and girls" rather than "children"? Do they ask "strong boys" to help move furniture and big blocks? Do they comment on girls' clothing or hair instead of asking about their interests and accomplishments?
Do they support boys' tender, sharing, inclusive behaviors or mainly comment on their noisy, power-focused play? The teachers agree to observe each other as well as the children and see what changes they can make to avoid the damage that gender stereotypes have on children's sense of themselves and of others.

Using a combination of child-initiated, teachable moments and teacher-initiated, pre-planned activities is the most effective way to expand children's ability to grow in the four anti-bias education goals and to talk about, think about, and understand the world around them.

Pay attention to the realities of children's lives

While the four core anti-bias education goals are the same for all children, specific activities should be relevant to the children's backgrounds and their lives. Some children need support to resist messages of racial or cultural inferiority; others need guidance to develop a positive self-concept without absorbing social messages that they are the "normal" ones and other children are less than, strange, or negatively different. Children of wealthy families need help resisting the message that material accumulation defines their worth and that of others; children of families with fewer resources need support to resist messages that undercut their families' worth. Some girls may need extra support to develop confidence and interest in experiences that are math and science related; some boys may require help to develop skills for having nurturing, cooperative interactions with their peers
and to engage in play that reflects these attitudes.

Closing thoughts

As in all other areas of the curriculum, teachers tailor and scaffold anti-bias education materials and activities to each child's cognitive, social, and emotional developmental capacities. They plan and choose learning experiences that stimulate children to explore the next step of new ideas and skills and allow each child to apply new understandings and behaviors in his or her daily life.

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Understanding Anti-Bias Education: Bringing the Four Core Goals to Every Facet of Your Curriculum

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This article is an excerpt of the second edition of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards.

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Cultural Awareness: Teaching Kids About Other Languages

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Cultural Awareness: Teaching Kids About Other Languages

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The article discusses the benefits of multicultural inclusion and provides advice to families for introducing children to new cultures and languages.

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Cultural Awareness: Teaching Kids About Other Languages -

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The United States is known as a “melting pot” of different nationalities, cultures and ethnicities. Many times, whether intentional or not, children and adults shy away from languages and cultures that differ from their own. To combat these tendencies, experts advise parents to expose their children…

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation

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The article offers educators tips on supporting and engaging multilingual children in classroom activities. Families can also use the advice to engage children of diverse languages in reciprocal conversations.

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Having conversations with children who are learning English in addition to their home languages-referred to in this article as multilingual children -is an essential skill for early childhood educators. Such engagement has implications for multilingual children's developing identities as valued and knowledgeable members of their communities as well as for their language learning. Discussions between educators and children have been shown to facilitate language learning by providing children with models for use of language and responsive communication and by offering teachers frequent opportunities to check for comprehension (e.g., Mashburn et al. 2008; Ruston & Schwanenflugel 2010; Chapman de Sousa 2017). Conversations also contextualize topics, making topics relevant to multilingual children and potentially motivating them to practice using their new language just beyond their independent level-a practice that facilitates language development (Swain 2005).

Instructional conversations, which are small group discussions among children and teachers that focus on a learning goal (Tharp & Entz 2003), promote the language development of multilingual children (Institute of Educational Sciences 2006; Portes et al. 2017). Yet, to be effective, these conversations must engage multilingual children as active participants. Unfortunately, research indicates that in preschool classrooms serving culturally and linguistically diverse learners, interactions between educators and children are often in the form of giving and receiving directions, with limited opportunities for children to practice producing multiword sentences (Justice et al. 2008). Multilingual students who attended public schools in the United States have reported feeling "tongue-tied" and "silenced" (Santa Ana 2004). Early childhood educators can address these concerns by using pedagogy that facilitates and values all children's contributions and voices.

As an instructional coach, I have often been asked for tips on encouraging multilingual children to join classroom conversations. In this article, I offer five strategies that take into account the unique aspects of learning an additional language and capitalize on the social and interactive nature of early childhood classrooms: use children's home languages as a resource; pair conversations with joint activities; coparticipate in activities; use small groups; and respond to children's contributions.

The research behind these tips is grounded in the work of the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE). Instructional conversations are a central aspect of the CREDE pedagogy, which has been shown to promote diverse learners' academic achievement (Tharp 1982; Hilberg, Tharp, & DeGeest 2000; Doherty et al. 2003; Portes et al. 2017). This model emphasizes building relationships, and it supports teachers in helping children develop their complex thinking (Yamauchi et al. 2012) as well as their language and literacy skills (Saunders & Goldenberg 2007; Chapman de Sousa 2017).

The CREDE Hawaiʻi project partnered with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Children's Center, a culturally and linguistically diverse preschool on O'ahu. Administrators and teachers at the center helped refine the CREDE model for teaching in early childhood (for a full description, see Yamauchi, Im, & Schonleber 2012). The center serves an international community whose members speak over 30 distinct languages. While the primary language of instruction is English, the educators encourage inclusion of Hawaiian and the children's various home languages. The following engagement ideas include examples from observing and interviewing educators who have developed expertise in engaging diverse and multilingual children.

1. Use children's home languages as a resource

Even if you do not speak the home languages of children in your program, you can still include their languages in conversations. Get help from family members by inviting them to come teach you and the class important words; also ask them for recommendations on literature and songs written and recorded in their languages. Additionally, remember that it is always possible to respond to children's communications, regardless of whether or not you speak the same language. You can do so with body language and other ways to communicate, such as using pictures and objects. Responding to children's multilingual contributions sends the message that diversity is valued in your classroom. It shows multilingual children that they have important ideas and questions to contribute, and that all forms of communication are of value.

Responding to children's multilingual contributions sends the message that diversity is valued in your classroom.

To emphasize how deeply connected multilingual children's forms of communication are, scholars have introduced the idea of translanguaging- using children's full language abilities to encourage learning (García & Wei 2014). This is a conscious effort to alter the widespread concept of multilingualism as fluency in separate languages and instead emphasize that multilingual people have "one linguistic repertoire" (García & Wei 2014, 2). For early childhood educators, this concept may help reinforce the importance of encouraging children to communicate using their complete linguistic repertoires, including multimodal communication such as gesturing and drawing.

If you or other educators at your center speak additional languages, use those as another resource for creating a classroom ecology that celebrates diverse contributions. During my classroom observations in the center, I saw several examples of teachers capitalizing on their own and children's multilingualism during instructional conversations. The children consistently responded with increased engagement.

During one observation, Kisho, a 4-year-old boy who had recently moved with his family from Japan to Hawaiʻi, was painting using mashed-up berries with his teacher, Ms. Rheta, and 4-year-old Cody. Speaking Japanese, Kisho asked things like, "What is in here?," while pointing at the berry dye, and "Can you eat it?" Ms. Rheta, who understood Japanese, answered his questions in English and Japanese while also gesturing, pointing, and showing pictures on her camera. Later, Cody said, "Don't eat" and repeated the Japanese word for "can't eat" that Kisho had used.

This example shows how inclusive practices can benefit multilingual children and their peers: multilingual children have expanded opportunities to engage in learning, and peers discover there are numerous ways of describing the world. As was the case with Cody, peers are often are excited to hear and learn new words. The translanguaging during their conversation created opportunities for conceptual and linguistic development for both children-but they were particularly important for Kisho. Kisho could ask questions in his home language and engage with the nature and art concepts long before he became proficient in English. His engagement increased, and he heard new vocabulary being used in a meaningful way. Ms. Kristi, another educator at the center, said that translanguaging "helps children be part of the group, and it helps them feel knowledgeable . . . so they can share a piece of themselves and the others can learn from them. It brings up their esteem."

2. Pair conversations with joint activities

There are several reasons why joint activities in small groups promote conversation: a shared activity gives participants a common subject to talk about; the tools or props related to the activity can aid in communication; and educators can tailor the activity and, based on the interests of the children participating, guide the conversation, thereby increasing the children's motivation and the likelihood that they will share their ideas. Such learning, paired with activities, is a central component of the CREDE framework for instruction (Tharp & Entz 2003; Yamauchi, Im, & Schonleber 2012).

Ms. Alyson and children having a conversation as they make
bread pudding together.

The educators I observed consistently used relevant and meaningful objects-such as paintbrushes, puppets, spoons, and pictures-when they invited multilingual children to join activities. While pointing to or holding up an object, teachers often coupled an invitation with a question. During the activity, the children could see the topic of conversation and could contribute nonverbally by pointing to or moving the object (instead of trying to rely solely on words). This supported the children's participation and conceptual development, and their motivation to communicate and complete the task. Because there were multiple members in the group working together, communication was required to accomplish the goals of the activity.

A child pours ingredients to
make bread pudding with his
classmates.

Examples of activities I observed included jointly painting fabric, preparing food and cooking, and acting out pictures from a multilingual text. These types of conversations with activities supported by relevant objects have been shown to facilitate children's comprehension and engagement (Hamilton 2014; DiGiacomo & Gutiérrez 2016).

Relationships with family members are fundamental to the Children's Center's philosophy. Educators welcome family members to join classroom activities. The small group format lends itself to having family volunteers in class, sharing their expertise and aspects of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. For example, during a multilingual book reading activity I observed, Ms. Kristi asked a child whose family was from Argentina how to say crab in Spanish. The child paused to remember, and Ms. Kristi suggested, pointing, "Ask your mom. She is right there." The child looked to her mom, who said, " Cangrejo," and the child repeated cangrejo, smiling and adding, "I have that music," referring to a song they listened to at home.

3. Coparticipate in activities

The educators participated in activities with the children for an extended period of time (15 minutes or longer). Coparticipating enabled the teachers to provide ongoing and responsive assistance as compared with briefly visiting groups while rotating around the classroom or engaging children in a whole group setting. Joining the activities increases opportunities for educators and children to provide feedback to one another, which is essential to the learning process (DiGiacomo & Gutiérrez 2016). Educators can listen to, assess, and assist children's developing conceptual and linguistic understandings. For example, I observed Ms. WenDee working with a small group of 2-year-olds to make pretzels. A multilingual child in the group confused the words for flour and sugar. In response, Ms. WenDee paused the mixing activity to have the children taste both ingredients and discuss the substances' similarities and differences.

Children's responses when teachers paint, draw, or cook along with them can be surprising. Coparticipating in activities with children naturally leads to modeling. It encourages more participation and helps teachers ask more open-ended and contextualized questions than when overseeing from the sidelines or just dropping in to ask questions. Multilingual children tend to watch their teachers and peers for nonverbal cues about what they are supposed to be doing and saying.

Coparticipating in activities with children encourages more participation and helps teachers ask more open-ended and contextualized questions.

When teachers and multilingual children coconstruct a product, they often also coconstruct a conversation. Such interaction constitutes "language learning in progress" (Swain 2013, 6). Collaborating on a joint product requires the contributors to discuss the steps using all of their language resources to negotiate meaning and arrive at mutual understanding. For example, a reoccurring joint activity at the Center is removing worm castings (to be used later in a classroom garden) from a composting bin. The activity requires separating the worms from the castings and then replacing the worms in the bin with fresh newspaper. I observed Mr. Raymond collaborate on this task with three 4-year-old children. Mr. Raymond started the activity by putting on plastic gloves and laying out newspaper. As he worked, three children came to observe him, and he invited them to help. They put on plastic gloves and listened attentively as Mr. Raymond described how to handle the worms gently and put them back in the bin with moist paper. While the children worked, they asked questions about the worms' habitat, the moistness of the paper, and how to care for living things. By being a part of the action instead of just observing from the sidelines, educators can serve as a bridge to the activity for multilingual children and promote their interaction with other children.

4. Use small groups

Encourage other children to join in activities, but limit group sizes to no more than six. Small group settings help make an activity more conversational, relieving some of the performance pressure children may feel when in a whole group setting or one-on-one with an educator. Also, peer modeling and support can promote multilingual children's language development and engagement (Ohta 2000). In the painting interaction described previously, Cody provided conceptual assistance to Kisho by making statements like, "That's how you dye colors." Small groups encourage multilingual children to take risks, such as verbalizing more often and asking questions, as was the case with Kisho while painting with Cody and Ms. Rheta. Language is learned through use, so children need ample opportunities to practice speaking and negotiating meaning (Gibbons 2015). Kisho was motivated to ask questions and to talk about the berries the dye was made from because he was curious and wanted to know if they were edible. He was comfortable verbalizing in this setting, and the group size allowed Ms. Rheta time to hear and respond to his questions. Multilingual children are likely to watch how you interact with others, and your responsiveness can help them feel valued.

Consider the seating arrangement when designing small group activities. Experiment with different arrangements and notice how the children respond. Some may contribute more to the conversation when they are right next to you. Other children may prefer direct eye contact from you to cue them to contribute, so having them across from you may promote their participation. Things like culture, family norms, personal preferences, and gender can influence how children engage in conversation. This is a great time to be a teacher-researcher and notice ways you can adjust the seating to encourage multilingual children's engagement.

At the center, the children are free to join and leave small group activities as they wish; however, the teachers will invite some children to join groups based on the teachers' learning goals. For example, it may be advantageous to have multiple children in the group who speak the same home language so they can support one another's conceptual understanding through use of their familiar language. At other times, it may be helpful to include peers with more advanced English.

All of the educators I interviewed emphasized the importance of establishing classroom values with the children at the beginning of the year that are reinforced daily. These values emphasize helping one another, accepting mistakes, and being kind. The educators embody respect through their use of an inclusive pedagogy that actively elicits children's contributions and builds on their interests and backgrounds; this promotes positive interactions and respectful behavior from the children.

5. Respond to children's contributions

The educators at the center were masterful at responding to the multilingual children's attempts to communicate. The table below summarizes the verbal and nonverbal responses to the children that teachers used frequently.

Responding to children's contributions promotes engagement and learning. For example, recasting during educator-child interactions can benefit multilingual children's language learning (Tsybina et al. 2006). During a pretzel-making activity, Dominic said as he rolled out his pretzel dough, "I rolling round." Ms. WenDee responded by recasting his comment as a question, "Are you rolling it?" That was helpful because it modeled a grammatically correct question; an even more helpful recasting would have also included the vocabulary word dough, as in "Are you rolling the dough?" Ms. WenDee also mirrored the children's gestures, communicating a shared understanding of the concepts in a nonverbal way. At one point, Dominic was counting the three ingredients on his hand; Ms. WenDee mirrored the gesture by holding up the same three fingers, touching them to the child's, and saying, "I have the same as you."

"Language learning is not just a cognitive struggle, it is a cognitive and emotional struggle" (Swain 2013, 11). Being responsive ensures that teachers build on children's thinking and communicates that the teachers value children's ideas, questions, and concerns. One way to study your responsiveness to multilingual children, including how you are communicating verbally and nonverbally, is to have a colleague videotape your interactions. Notice your facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice as you engage with the multilingual children.

Multilingual families and children should have opportunities to serve as experts and contribute to all of the children's learning.

Responding to the children's comments, questions, and body language (such as puzzled looks or gestures) will enable you to make links between the activity and what was interesting to the children. Being responsive helps make instruction relevant and meaningful. For example, during the painting activity referenced earlier, Kisho asked Ms. Rheta, "Kore nani ireta?," which means "What did you put in this?," regarding the paint. Ms. Rheta stopped and responded by gesturing and repeating the word "berries." She then elaborated, gesturing in a picking motion while telling Kisho that a group of children picked the berries from a nearby tree. Ms. Rheta brought out her camera and showed Kisho photos from the berry picking to support his understanding. During our interview, Ms. Rheta told me that the learning goal for the activity was to help the children understand how certain things, like dye, can come directly from nature. Ms. Rheta responsively used Kisho's questions as an opportunity to address the learning goal.

Conclusion

Research and observations of effective educators indicate that coparticipating with multilingual children in small group conversations centered on a joint activity, responding verbally and nonverbally to children's contributions, and using the children's home languages as a tool for understanding are ways to promote their engagement and learning. Instructional conversations give multilingual children opportunities to share their expertise and thoughts, promoting language development (Institute of Educational Sciences 2006; Chapman de Sousa 2017; Portes et al. 2017). Central to these strategies is creating opportunities for children to speak and share their ideas, solve problems together, and value diversity.

Bonus Strategy: Engaging Multilingual Families

To encourage the engagement of families from diverse backgrounds, educators at the center conduct home visits and have meetings with family members throughout the year. The initial family meeting is essential to relationship building. Educators ask important questions about the children and their preferences, and learn key words in the children's home languages. From that first meeting onward, the center communicates to families that family members have expertise and that the program welcomes their contributions. Teachers use families' unique knowledge and skills to develop the curriculum for the year. In addition to issuing in-person invitations, teachers send notes home asking families to come into the classroom and host activities.

During one of my visits, Ms. Amy, an educator at the center who worked with 2-year-olds, was having a conversation about butterflies with several multilingual children. She reminded a child that her mom would be coming into classroom to teach them songs in Japanese about butterflies. The child then said in English, "Mom is gonna bring us a song about butterflies," an important multiword utterance for a 2-year-old who is just starting to learn English.

This type of meaningful engagement of families from diverse backgrounds has been shown to positively influence educational outcomes (O'Donnell & Kirkner 2014). Effective engagement efforts go beyond the traditional methods of having back-to-school nights and communicating only during parent-teacher conferences or when a behavior issue arises. At the center, multilingual families and children have opportunities to serve as experts and contribute to all of the children's learning.

References

Chapman de Sousa, E.B. 2017. "Promoting the Contributions of Multilingual Preschoolers." Linguistics and Education 39: 1-13.

DiGiacomo, D.K., & K.D. Gutiérrez. 2016. "Relational Equity as a Design Tool within Making and Tinkering Activities." Mind, Culture, and Activity 23 (2): 141-53.

Doherty, R.W., R.S. Hilberg, A. Pinal, & R.G. Tharp. 2003. "Five Standards and Student Achievement." NABE Journal of Research and Practice 1 (1): 1-24.

García, O., & L. Wei. 2014. Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gibbons, P. 2015. Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Hamilton, R. 2014. "Bedtime Stories in English: Field-Testing Comprehensible Input Materials for Natural Second-Language Acquisition in Japanese Pre-School Children." Journal of International Education Research 10 (3): 249-54.

Hilberg, R.S., R.G. Tharp, & L. DeGeest. 2000. "The Efficacy of CREDE's Standards-Based Instruction in American Indian Mathematics Classes." Equity and Excellence in Education
33 (2): 32-40.

Institute of Educational Sciences. 2006. "Instructional Conversation and Literature Logs." What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Intervention Report. Rockville, MD: WWC. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/WWC_ICLL_102606.pdf.

Justice, L.M., A.J. Mashburn, B.K. Hamre, & R.C. Pianta. 2008. "Quality of Language and Literacy Instruction in Preschool Classrooms Serving At-Risk Pupils." Early Childhood Research Quarterly 23 (1): 51-68.

Mashburn, A.J., R.C. Pianta, B.K. Hamre, R.T. Downer, O.A. Barbarin, D. Bryant, M. Burchinal, R. Clifford, D.M. Early, & C. Howes. 2008. "Measures of Classroom Quality in Prekindergarten and Children's Development of Academic, Language, and Social Skills." Child Development 79 (3): 732-49.

O'Donnell, J., & S.L. Kirkner. 2014. "The Impact of a Collaborative Family Involvement Program on Latino Families and Children's Educational Performance." School Community Journal 24 (1): 211-34.

Ohta, A.S. 2000. "Rethinking Interaction in SLA: Developmentally Appropriate Assistance in the Zone of Proximal Development and the Acquisition of L2 Grammar." Chap. 2 in Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, ed. J.P. Lantolf, 51-78. New York: Oxford University Press.

Portes, P.R., M. González Canché, D. Boada, & M.E. Whatley. 2017. "Early Evaluation Findings from the Instructional Conversation Study: Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcomes for Diverse Learners in Elementary School." American Educational Research Journal 55 (3): 488-531.

Ruston, H., & P.J. Schwanenflugel. 2010. "Effects of a Conversation Intervention on the Expressive Vocabulary Development of Prekindergarten Children." Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 41 (3): 303-13.

Santa Ana, O. 2004. Tongue-Tied: The Lives of Multilingual Children in Public Education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Saunders, W., & C. Goldenberg. 2007. "The Effects of an Instructional Conversation on English Language Learners' Concepts of Friendship and Story Comprehension." In Talking Text: How Speech and Writing Interact in School Learning, ed.R. Horowitz, 221-52. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Swain, M. 2005. "The Output Hypothesis: Theory and Research." In Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning, ed.E. Hinkel, 471-84. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Swain, M. 2013. "The Inseparability of Cognition and Emotion in Second Language Learning." Language Teaching 46 (2): 195-207.

Tharp, R. 1982. "The Effective Instruction of Comprehension: Results and Description of the Kamehameha Early Education Program." Reading Research Quarterly 17 (4): 503-27.

Tharp, R., & S. Entz. 2003. "From High Chair to High School: Research-Based Principles for Teaching Complex Thinking." Young Children 58 (5): 38-44.

Tsybina, I., L.E. Girolametto, E. Weitzman, & J. Greenberg. 2006. "Recasts Used with Preschoolers Learning English as Their Second Language." Early Childhood Education Journal 34(2): 177-85.

Yamauchi, L.A., S. Im, & N.S. Schonleber. 2012. "Adapting Strategies of Effective Instruction for Culturally Diverse Preschoolers." Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education 33 (1):54-72.

Yamauchi, L.A., S. Im, C.-J. Lin, & N.S. Schonleber. 2012. "The Influence of Professional Development on Changes in Educators' Facilitation of Complex Thinking in Preschool Classrooms." Early Child Development and Care 183 (5): 689-706.

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Five Tips for Engaging Multilingual Children in Conversation

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In this article, I offer five strategies that take into account the unique aspects of learning an additional language and capitalize on the social and interactive nature of early childhood classrooms.

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The article offers families helpful tips on being open and honest with children’s curiosity about disabilities. The author provides simple strategies for teaching empathy and acceptance.

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From a peer with dyslexia to a cousin who uses a wheelchair, your child may be curious about people with disabilities. Talking to your child about disabilities can help him gain a better understanding of why some people look, talk, act, or move a little bit differently.

Provide Education in a Matter-of-Fact Manner

Don't try to convince your child that someone with a disability is just like he is. Instead, acknowledge that they are a little different, but make it clear that just because someone is different, that doesn't make that person bad.

Then, show your child how to talk about those differences in a respectful manner. Give your child the language to use to talk about someone who has a learning disability or a physical disability.

Educate your child about disabilities in a matter-of-fact manner. Say things like, "The muscles in your uncle's legs don't work like yours. That's why he has trouble walking," or "She was born with one leg. So she has a prosthetic leg that doctors made for her that she uses to walk."

Here are some important points to make:

Some people are born with disabilities. Make it clear that sometimes, babies are born with disabilities. But at other times, people develop disabilities later in life.

People with disabilities aren't sick. Explain that a child with cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy isn't sick. You don't want your child to think he might catch a disability.

There's nothing wrong with people with disabilities. Your child may ask questions like, "What's wrong with that girl?" Explain that a child may have trouble talking or difficulty walking but that doesn't mean there's something "wrong" with her.

A physical disability doesn't mean someone has a cognitive disability. Sometimes, kids assume someone with a physical disability may also struggle to communicate or may not be smart. Make it clear that just because someone's body doesn't work the same doesn't mean their brain is impaired.

Explain How People With Disabilities May Use Adaptive Equipment

Talk to your child about how people with disabilities may use adaptive equipment to assist them. Someone in the grocery store may have a service animal, and other people walk with crutches or use a wheelchair to get around.

You may also explain why there are parking spaces for people with physical disabilities located near the store. Explain how someone may use a special vehicle, designed to fit a wheelchair with a ramp or lift.

Educate your child how to best assist someone who uses adaptive equipment. For example, make it clear that your child should never pet a dog who is wearing a service vest unless the owner invites him to do so, and explain how holding a door for someone who uses a wheelchair may make it easier for them.

Point Out Similarities

Make sure you don't send the message that people with disabilities are completely different from everyone else. Point out things a child with a disability has in common with your child. Say things like, "Lucy is good at math, just like you are. And you both love to listen to the same kind of music."

Understanding how they're the same can help your child relate better to people with disabilities, and it can help increase your child's empathy.

Learn About Disabilities Together

There's a good chance you won't have all the answers about someone's disability. Researching a disability together can help you show your child how to educate himself on unfamiliar conditions.

Look for kid-friendly websites that offer information about autism, Down syndrome, learning disabilities, or other disabilities that he may have questions about. Then, go through the information together.

Read age-appropriate books about disabilities too, and look for TV shows that address specific conditions. Sesame Street, for example, depicts a muppet named Julia who has autism.

Prepare for Tough Questions

Your child may have some tough questions about someone's disability. Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know," if you don't have the answer. Or, try saying, "I'll have to think about that and get back to you," if you need some time to gather your thoughts before giving an answer.

Here are a few tough questions you might hear:

Why was he born like that? You could give a science-based answer by saying, "When he was growing in his mother's belly, his foot just didn't grow." Or, you might give a spiritual answer that reflects your beliefs.

Is she going to live to be a grown up? If your child asks a tough question about someone's lifespan, you may want to focus on what's being done to keep people healthy. Say something like, "I don't know. But doctors and scientists are working hard to find a cure."

Will she ever be able to walk? There's a good chance you might not know someone's prognosis. So you might say, "I'm not sure, but I bet she's working hard along with her doctors to do the best she can."

Teach Kindness and Sensitivity to Others

Unfortunately, there's a good chance your child will overhear some unkind words used to describe someone's disability, and there's a chance your child will repeat those names. Address unkind words right away. Explain to your child that such words are hurtful and it's not OK to say them.

If your child continues to use those words after you've explained to him that they're inappropriate, give a negative consequence. Make it clear that putting people down and speaking disrespectfully about others won't be tolerated.

Additionally, don't allow your child to engage in mean-spirited behavior. Make it known that imitating people with a disability isn't kind and tell your child not to laugh at others.

Tell Your Child to Ask Before Helping

Kids often want to be helpers but, they may not know how to do something that is actually helpful. Or, they may put themselves in danger.

Getting behind someone in a wheelchair without asking them if they need assistance could be dangerous if the person using the wheelchair doesn't see your child. Similarly, your child may be tempted to intervene if he sees a child with autism who is feeling very upset. But, the child just may need a little space to calm down and giving him a hug could make it worse.

So teach your child to ask before springing into action. Asking, "Is there anything I can do to help?" gives the other person an opportunity to say whether assistance would be appreciated.

How to Talk About a Loved One Who Has a Disability

If your child grows up with a loved one who has a disability-like a cousin or a grandparent-he may raise new questions over time. As he gains a better understanding of the body, he may have bigger questions.

If it's a close friend or family member who has the disability, ask if the individual is willing to answer your child's questions. You may find your loved one is happy to field questions to give your child a better understanding.

How to Talk About a Peer Who Has a Disability

Your child may have questions about a peer at school that you're not able to answer. You may have no idea why that girl in his class requires help to eat her food or why a boy in class doesn't speak in full sentences. You may want to explain, "I'm not sure why she needs help eating. Maybe the muscles in her arms don't work like yours do."

You may also want to contact your child's teacher. While the teacher can't reveal information to you about another student, it might be helpful for the teacher to know your child has questions, and other children likely have questions too.

Many schools offer disability-awareness programs. Find out if your child's school has any type of curriculum that teaches kids about disabilities. When children understand another child's disability, they're more likely to become an ally.

Encourage your child to include peers with disabilities in activities. Eating lunch at the same table, playing at recess, or simply striking up a conversation are a few ways your child can be inclusive.

If your child wants to invite a child with a disability to a birthday party, you may want to call the other parent to talk about how to make it happen. Say, "My son wants to have an outdoor party and he'd love to have your child attend. How can we make that happen?"

How to Talk to Your Child About Your Disability

If you have a disability, your child may have a lot of questions about whether you're going to get better or why you can't do certain things. It's important to give honest answers in a kid-friendly manner.

It can be confusing for kids if a parent has a disability that isn't visible on the outside. Kids can't see what's wrong when a parent has an issue that involves chronic pain, for example, so it's important to give kids a little information about the science behind what's happening to your body.

It can also be helpful to share about your self-care strategies. Whether you attend physical therapy, get acupuncture, or take medication, make it clear to your child that you are taking steps to take care of yourself.

If you have a new disability-like the loss of a limb from an accident-and your child is struggling to adjust, seek professional help. Talking to a psychotherapist could help your child process her feelings and adjust to the changes.

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From a peer with dyslexia to a cousin who uses a wheelchair, your child may be curious about people with disabilities. Talking to your child about disabilities can help him gain a better understanding of why some people look, talk, act, or move a little bit differently.

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A shy girl wants to befriend a boy, but she doesn’t know how. When she falls off her skateboard, she doesn’t understand why the boy doesn’t help. Families can use this short video to introduce conversations about disabilities, understanding, and empathy.

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DIFFERENT | Award Winning Short Film by Tahneek Rahman

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The Anti-Defamation League advocates for all marginalized groups experiencing prejudice, bigotry, extremism, and hate crimes; reduces bias through education; and creates an environment of laws and norms where all groups are treated fairly.

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How to Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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How to Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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Bright Horizons offers helpful tips and children’s book resources to families to teach children about diverse family structures.

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Our world is incredibly diverse and families are no different, with varying configurations, beliefs, cultural norms, and personal practices. One of the most important gifts we can give our children is to help them feel good about the uniqueness of their family and help them learn to accept, respect, and include people whom they may identify and experience as "different."

Answering Questions about Diverse Family Structures

Families come in many different structures and sizes. Young children often have questions when they notice families that seem different from their own. This is a great opportunity to share your values about families, diversity, and inclusion with your child. Here are a few ideas to guide the conversation.

Keep it simple. Young children generally don't need or want long, complex answers. Something like, "Cody lives with his grandmother. His grandmother is his family," or "Malia has two mommies. They are her family," are sufficient. Preschool children are concrete thinkers and not ready for a philosophical discussion.

Celebrate diversity. Children's growing awareness of diverse family structures provides rich opportunities to celebrate family diversity and engage children in conversation about who is in THEIR family, who lives in THEIR house, and more importantly, who takes care of them. Point out the wonderful, interesting diversity of families, which might include families with only children, families with many siblings, blended families, foster families, LGBTQ families, multi-generational families, and many others. This diversity of families makes life richer.

Define what makes a family. Children tend to thrive when they come to understand there are varying family structures and that all families are wonderful, so long as the people in them love and care about each other. This repeated message helps children feel secure, even if their family configuration changes through death, separation, or other life events.

When children ask, "Can a family have two mommies?" one suggested response is: "Yes, some families may have two mommies, one mommy, no mommy, or even lots of mommies. And some families may have two daddies, one daddy, no daddy, or even lots of daddies. Some families also include grandparents, foster parents, aunts, and uncles. Other families have one child, no children, or many children. Any combination works. It's love that makes a family-just like in our family."

Children's Books about Diverse Families

Literature is a wonderful way to expose children to the world. By sharing books such as the ones listed below, you are communicating that diverse families and people are all acceptable. There may be different values and structures, but in the end...it's about family.

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How to Help Children Understand Diverse Families

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Our world is incredibly diverse and families are no different, with varying configurations, beliefs, cultural norms, and personal practices. One of the most important gifts we can give our children is to help them feel good about the uniqueness of their family and help them learn to accept, respect, and include people whom they may identify and experience as "different."

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5 Tips for Preventing and Reducing Gender Bias

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5 Tips for Preventing and Reducing Gender Bias

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The article provides families an opportunity to reflect on gender biases and offers helpful tips for families to discuss gender stereotypes and prejudices with children.

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Why

We all carry biases that are based on gender; throughout our lives we receive daily messages about what is expected of males and females. These biases become ingrained and it's often impossible to completely get rid of them. But, if we can be more aware of our biases, we have a better chance of counteracting them.

How

Take a hard look at how biases might be affecting your attitudes or actions. Be mindful that the relationships, language, and behaviors that come naturally to you may express bias. Think about what conclusions you jump to about what boys or girls should dress like, act like, think about and feel.

TRY THIS

Practice counteracting stereotypes. Exposing our brains to images that contradict stereotypes can actually decrease our implicit, unconscious biases. Find images that do not fit traditional gender stereotypes-women doing construction work or men in care-taking roles-and post them in places you view often at home or at work, e.g., save them to your phone or use them as your screensaver.

Watch your language. Our language sends messages about our expectations based on gender. When we comment on how pretty girls look or how strong boys are, for example, we send messages about our expectations for kids based on their gender. Use gender-neutral words like "they" or say "she or he" when talking about people in the abstract. Say "firefighter" instead of "fireman" and "police officer" instead of "policeman." Be on the look-out for statements that start with "all girls" or "all boys."

Check in with a friend or family member. Because we all are blind to some of our biases, we need feedback. Talk to close friends and family members about your own gender biases and ask them whether you are expressing gender biases that you might be unaware of. Ask kids to hold you accountable, to give you feedback if you are modeling stereotypes or expressing bias. Modeling this openness and being willing to admit bias sends a powerful message to kids about the nature of biases and how they are counteracted. It can be, of course, very hard to receive this kind of feedback from our kids or other loved ones, but it's a key part of responsible, moral parenting.

2. Engage Your Kids in Making Your Home a Bias-Free Zone

Why

Beginning at a very young age, kids notice differences between girls and boys that can develop into narrow understandings of gender. Parents and caregivers can shape healthier understandings about gender by cultivating family practices that widen kids' sense of gender roles and alert them to bias.

How

Develop routines and habits in your family, with input from your kids, that help to counteract and prevent biases and stereotypes. Build strong, trusting relationships with your children so it's easier for them to ask you uncomfortable questions related to gender. When kids ask questions about differences, let them know that you appreciate the question, and answer with straightforward, honest language.

TRY THIS

Mix it up. Proactively start conversations with your kids about how responsibilities get divvied up in your family. Talk about what is fair and balanced, rather than make assumptions about who does what based on gender. Create a chore wheel so that everyone gets a chance to participate in all the types of chores. Be willing to model behavior that doesn't fit gender stereotypes and show kids that you can step outside your own comfort zone.

Hold each other accountable. Periodically ask kids whether they think your family practices are gender-biased in any way. Are there different expectations of females and males in the family? If so, why? When kids do identify biases or inequities at home, brainstorm solutions with them.

Tell your story. Share with your kids examples of times when you've experienced bias because of your gender. Talk to them about times you've felt you've been treated unfairly or times that you've taken a stand against gender bias and injustice. Sharing your stories opens the door for them to share theirs.

Expand their horizons. Provide your kids with books, games, TV shows, movies, art, etc. that show people from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds demonstrating non-traditional gender roles, images that they may not see in mainstream media. Expose both boys and girls to a variety of activities. Don't just assume, for example, that boys will like sports and girls will like ballet. Ask girls to imagine themselves as senators, sports team managers and business leaders and ask boys to imagine themselves as child care directors and dance choreographers. Facilitate children interacting with mixed gender groups and developing cross-gender friendships.

3. Help Kids Kick Stereotypes to the Curb

Why

Kids are often unaware of the gender biases and stereotypes they confront every day, biases and stereotypes that can powerfully shape their views of gender. Kids need to learn from the adults in their lives how to recognize bias in themselves and others, how to talk constructively to others about biases, and how to avoid being influenced by stereotypes

How

Be alert to and prepared to explain to kids why bias is harmful in ways that they can understand and appreciate and give kids strategies for responding to biases and stereotypes that are appropriate for their developmental stage.

TRY THIS

Ask kids what they think. Kids are excellent at finding unfair images of themselves and others, whether at school, in the neighborhood or in the media. Create a list together of gender stereotypes you both see or hear. Spot them when you're watching television, listening to a song, or shopping for clothes together. Talk to them about how these stereotypes make them feel. If you see a bias or stereotype that your kids don't see, point it out to them. Make the connection clear: "That commercial shows girls not caring about school as much as about how they look. That doesn't seem fair."

Help kids be a first responder. Brainstorm with kids strategies for responding to stereotypes they encounter in their daily interactions. Talk together about the words they can use to speak up, and how those words might be different when talking to a friend or a stranger or a teacher, for example. Practice different responses and conduct role plays that help children find the right words. Help kids identify who their allies could be when they need more help in a difficult interaction.

Question their lingo. When you hear kids use terms to describe boys or girls that reflect biases, ask them to consider what the words mean and what messages these words might send.

4. Don't Just Let "Boys Be Boys"

Why

Too often boys' demeaning stereotypes and remarks about girls go unchecked. Often both adults' and kids' peers don't know how to intervene when boys make demeaning remarks about girls and often they fear being written off or ridiculed. Yet excusing these behaviors as "boys being boys" sends them the message that those behaviors are okay.

How

Take time to consider how to intervene when boys are demeaning to girls, and step in immediately if you observe or hear these behaviors.

TRY THIS

Talk about real honor and strength. Point out to boys the false bravado in demeaning girls and the real courage and strength in defying one's peers when they devalue girls in general or divide girls into "good girls" and "bad girls." Talk about commonly used, denigrating words to describe girls and why they're offensive, even when they're used "just as a joke" or sarcastically. Brainstorm strategies with boys for talking to their peers about this denigration that won't cause them to be ridiculed or spurned.

Allow boys to express their full selves. Encourage them to talk about vulnerabilities and worries, and appreciate them when they do. Encourage and recognize their expressions of empathy and care, especially for girls and others who are different from them.

Teach boys to value and stand up for girls and women. Help boys understand their responsibility in counteracting gender bias and stereotypes. Reinforce that being an ally to girls and women means not just avoiding demeaning girls but also speaking up when others do. Show them that you support and appreciate the women in your life.

5. Build Girls' Leadership Skills and Self-Confidence

Why

Too many girls are dealing with biases about their leadership capacity specifically. Perhaps the best way for girls to counteract their negative images about their own and other girls' leadership capacity is for them to experience themselves as effective leaders.

How

Expose girls to various, appealing examples of leadership and help them develop the skills and confidence they need to become leaders in a wide variety of fields. Too often girls avoid leadership because they don't feel confident in skills such as public speaking or because they fear their peers will disapprove. Many girls fear appearing bossy

Try This

Connect girls to leadership opportunities that are meaningful to them. Discuss with girls many types of leadership and explore with them how their interests and passions align with these different types. Show them images of girls and women in a range of leadership positions, such as the lead scientist in the recent Pluto mission.

Help girls develop specific leadership skills. Give girls chances to practice public speaking, to participate in decision-making processes, to work in teams, and to give and receive feedback. Invite them to practice these skills in decisions your family makes, for example, or encourage them to take action on problems they're concerned about in their schools and communities.

Talk to girls about their fears. Start conversations with girls about the things they feel hold them back from leadership. Model for them that it's okay to feel nervous or worried about how they'll be perceived or the reactions they may get when in leadership roles. Explore with girls various strategies for dealing with disapproval and criticism. Consider with girls how they might engage peers as supporters and allies when they face disapproval.

Encourage girls to lead in collaboration with diverse groups of girls. Collaboration and teamwork are essential skills for leadership in today's workplace, helping to develop social awareness, problem-solving abilities, perspective-taking and other key skills. And working in racial and economically diverse groups can enrich girls' understandings of different cultures, expose girls to a wide range of leadership styles and abilities, and enable girls to draw on various kinds of cultural wisdom about leadership.

Last reviewed October 2018.

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5 Tips for Preventing and Reducing Gender Bias - Making Caring Common

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If we can be more aware of our biases, we have a better chance of counteracting them. Use these tips and suggestions for understanding and addressing bias with your kids.