Silence the voice of hate, stop prejudice in your kids

We tend to be prejudice towards those we feel are not of the same class as we are. At times this prejudice of ours is carried along into our marriages and other relationships. In our age of enlightenment, prejudice should have been a thing of the past, but more and more individuals are being made victims of prejudice in our society. If we critically analyse the crisis that happened in Jos we will notice that it all still boils down to holding prejudice by one group against the other.

Prejudice is more than an issue of race or conflict between adults as the behaviours of the younger ones have shown that our kids are also buying into the habits and character. The only way to put a stop to prejudice is to start inculcating in our kids the negative sides of prejudice. Prejudice is a disease and needs immediate cure in our society.

Raising kids and understanding ethnic diversity in our society cannot be seen as a separate task, they are part of our societal responsibility if we are to act as good parents especially mothers. Children are always tempted to discriminate amongst other kids different from them and it only worsens when they enter their teenage years. This behaviour if left to develop in the kids and left unchecked can be self destructive in the long run for the kid because making wrong judgment about people on the account of prejudice can impair his/her inability to make the right decision as an adult.

Children are not born with a prejudiced mind of their own it is something that they learn as they grow up. If you want your kid to grow up to respect and treat everyone equally, you will need to teach them the truth at an early stage in life. Children often take their cues from their parents’ behaviour, so if ever you find your self making fun of a relative or speaking badly behind someone’s back, stop it, for you might just be laying the foundation of a prejudiced mind in your kids.

Children are curious about everything and they learn so much from the adult around them, including how they react to situations, who they put down or build up in a conversation with friends and how they treat others. Mothers must start embedding family values in their kids before they start learning the act of prejudice from others outside the home. To help your kids you have to first explore the impact of your prejudice, which we can not deny that we have one way or the other. You have to give much thought to what it is like to be the target of prejudice. As a responsible parent, you have to play an active role in becoming an unbiased adult. Sometimes taking a stand means taking a risk, but this is one risk you should not ignore taking. By eliminating your own prejudice you will also help your kids grow in a prejudice free environment.

Since time we have to live with the poisonous practice called prejudice in our lives. Most wars and conflicts have been started because of prejudice and hatred. Hatred has never stopped, and come to think of it, it is has killed everything good in life. We might in some situations or circumstances not agree with everything in some other persons, but then we have no right to hate or maltreat them let alone be prejudiced against them.

People with strong prejudices are rarely able to look inwards to see if the fault lies within them and if they can do something to remedy the situation; they often blame others for their own problems.

Try to impart in our kids to treat everyone as individuals and not to generalize on religion, ethnicity, belief or preferences. In simplest terms remind them never to stoop to a level such as being prejudiced, teach them that it is a behaviour unbecoming of a lady or a gentleman. Discrimination and prejudice is borne out of ignorance and the ill-educated. Teach them to accept every individual as unique and special in his/her own capabilities. Teach them that being different is not a sign of weakness or shame, tell them that diversity makes us stronger. Let them understand that prejudice and hatred is not acceptable and it is an unnecessary waste of time and energy. Let them know that accepting people for who they are is one of the most priceless things we can learn and pass on to others. Only this way, we can have a peaceful and comfortable society, by stopping the voice f hatred and prejudice in our kids’ right from when they are born!