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Teaching Children To Accept Others
Begins at Home
Learning
to accept others helps children to accept themselves
Headlines
today consistently echo the problems that exist within our schools
and communities and how it reflects a moral breakdown in our society.
There seems to be little tolerance for accepting differences in
others, resulting in increased violence within schools and communities.
Part of the problem is the lack of respect toward diversity. Children
of all ages need to be taught respect for diversity and learn that
other people and families, though different, can share similar experiences
and values. Reading is an important tool for broadening a child’s
universe in a safe and stress-free way. Teaching children through
creative storytelling, the meaning of diversity and how important
it is can increase their understanding and acceptance of others.
According to the U.S.
Department of Education, the single most important activity for
building the knowledge required for eventual success is reading
aloud to children. A recent study showed that children read more
when they see other people reading at home. Over the past 25 years
studies show a gradual and steady decline in the number of children
who read for fun outside regular school hours.
This decline in recreational
reading, says Tory B. Hanlen, author of Sense and Non-Sense (BookSurge
Publishing), has contributed to children seeking inappropriate means
of expression, which includes a lack of respect for themselves and
others. “Families need to meet this challenge of teaching children
to accept differences in people, as well as teaching them good and
acceptable behaviors.” Awareness that differences exist, and
that there is more than one approach to an issue, can expand a child’s
universe and appreciation of others.
“Having self-acceptance
is what allows acceptance in others,” Hanlen says and children
need not be afraid to be different themselves. Broadening their
horizons allows them to understand that “different” is
acceptable no matter what side of the track you live on.
In her children’s
book Sense and Non-Sense, Hanlen cleverly tells a humorous tale
of a “normal” family who moves onto Nonsense Street and
how their behaviors are the exception and not the norm—while
the Nonsense Street folks seem strange in comparison, they are a
simply different fun loving family. Through humor, Hanlen offers
a painless way to reinforce lessons about good and not so good habits.
Sense and Non-Sense opens the mind to the fact that “normal”
is in the eye of the beholder and what is the acceptable is determined
by each individual family.
Hanlen is also the author
of Across This Puddle I Must Go (BookSurge Publishing), which lets
children and adults explore together ways that a child uses their
imagination to overcome everyday challenges.
About
The Author
Tory Hanlen began writing
children’s books when her son was young as a way to teach him
good family values. Hanlen brings these stories to life for other
children to enjoy. Her books bring a smile to both children and
adults alike, depicting scenes and images that are naturally common
to the experiences and thoughts of a child.
A native of Brooklyn
, New York , Hanlen is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology
with a BFA in Design Graphics.
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Sense
and Non-Sense
BookSurge
Publishing, 2006
33
pp., Trade Paper Back
$17.99.
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Across
This Puddle I Must Go
BookSurge
Publishing, 2006
43
pp., Trade Paper Back
$19.99
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Source:
Event Management Services, Inc.
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