Today there is a real need for us to teach our kids that there is much more in their life than video games, mobile phone and fast food drive. How do you teach them that the real happiness lies in giving and not in getting? It is your responsibility to ensure that your child is globally, socially and environmentally conscious and thinks more about ‘we’ than ‘me’ and also to create the feeling of oneness in the child’s mind.
The world is shrinking and there is a high need for the kids to adapt to this as we are intertwined with people from other countries, continents that have different culture altogether. The kids are growing in a globalized era and they are not confined to their neighborhood; they interact with people all around the globe. Your kid can have this global reach and participation without having to travel around the globe. How can we groom our kids to be responsible citizens? Responsible citizen doesn’t mean their personal responsibility like having them put their toys back in place once they are done with playing.
Let us explore some tips to raise a globally conscious child:
1. Help the child understand the need for globalization
Help the child understand; why they should worry about children they will never meet in their lives or about the melting ice caps in polar region. Make them globally and environmentally conscious and in the process create a feeling of ‘oneness’ in them.
2. Expand knowledge through books
Nice books are always good friends to everyone. Help your child identify the right kind of books to help them expand their knowledge of different geographies, people, countries, continents and also about different culture that prevails.
Whenever you choose books for your kids, make a little extra effort always to search for some books which has information about other countries and cultures. Children exposed to different looks, lifestyles and also lifestyle expand their vocabulary and their knowledge about other countries, continents, culture and also about the people there. The more fiction books the kids read, they get exposed to more real world experiences and this would help your child grow as a better citizen.
3.Encourage them to learn foreign languages
It is a well-known fact that anything that the process of learning is easy and quick in the early stages of life when compared to the later part of it.
In this globalized era, no one can really wait for their school to teach them the second language. Earlier the children are exposed to new languages, they learn the language easier and faster. Exposing them to different languages also indirectly exposes them to foreign cultures. It will help the children to easily interact in a globalized environment and indirectly boosts their confidence to face the world.
4. Create interest in geography
It is very important for everyone to know about the geography of different countries. Create interest in kids to learn about different countries, location and their geography. This learning can be initiated at home by giving access to globe and maps to the kids. Access to maps can be given in many interesting ways like using them as placement maps and also as tracks for the childhood toys like trains. Creating interest in geography in their play time and everyday life is an easy way to teach about the corners of the world.
5. Expose them to different culture
There are lots of different cultures in the world and taking the child physically to every part of the world is not often possible, but at the same time you need to make them aware of the different cultures, lifestyle and food style of different people across the globe sitting at your home, which is not an easy task. You need to have our thinking cap on and make this learning innovative, interesting and also informative for the child.
Expose your kid to different culture in interesting way. Organize your own international nights and together do some research on different cultures and at the end put together all the information collected and organize an event which helps you to try new foods from different cuisines, listen to different music across the globe and also help the kids make some innovative table decorations that matches with the event. Kids enjoy a lot in such events and in due process they learn a lot about different cultures and countries.
6. Let them struggle
The more the child struggles the stronger they grow. Feeling their own pain is the best way to help them understand others’ pain and this is the way to learn compassion and the feeling of ‘oneness’.
Just as a butterfly needs to struggle to come out of its cocoon and emerge and fly, each and every individual have to struggle on their own to come off the difficulties and pain in life to understand the reality and emerge as successful individual. So, try to create compassion in the young minds to make the world a better place to live.
7. Browse your way to new world
The internet is an unparalleled resource to get information about other countries, culture and continents. Help your child chat with friends across the globe and also help them have access to news and up to date incidents across the globe.
Help your child expand their knowledge socially, environmentally and globally and so that you can ensure that the whole world is waiting to invite them with open hands.
