When young children are introduced to an array of different perspectives and backgrounds, their worlds become more vibrant, and they strengthen their life skills for becoming more empathetic, understanding, and open-minded.
I’m encouraged by the ways my kids naturally accept and appreciate the differences reflected in the people living in our community. When they see a family makeup that doesn’t look like ours, or notice the variety of races and ethnicities of their classmates, or reference the variety of ways people think or talk, work or worship, they simply soak it in and think, “Okay! People are different!”
While it’s great to find our commonalities, it’s also important for our family to celebrate what makes us different, too. By modeling open-mindedness and empathy, we can help our children recognize and appreciate the differences all around us.
Our family is loving the way kids are invited to think things out and consider different perspectives in “Alma’s Way” — a fun new animated series created by Sonia Manzano. (Like many other parents in my generation, I first knew her as the beloved “Maria” on “Sesame Street.”)
Manzano and the team at Fred Rogers Productions have created a show that organically celebrates the differences between the kids and grown-ups who live, work, and play in Alma’s neighborhood in the Bronx. The series encourages children to think things through, to pause and reflect on a situation before making her next step. With these “think through” moments, “Alma’s Way” can also help children (and grown-ups) to widen their perspectives, appreciate differences, and be empathetic to others. As someone who was brought up on both “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” it’s easy to see how both series have helped “Alma’s Way” grow.
Here are five ways to help your child broaden their perspective:
- Get curious!
Encourage your child to observe another person’s words and body language to help them begin to notice how others are feeling in response to a situation. In “Alma’s Movie Night,” Alma, Andre, and their friends can’t wait for movie night in the park! But when André finds out the feature stars a spooky blob monster, he suddenly remembers he has to help out at the community center. Alma offers to help him finish in time, but he doesn’t seem excited. Alma models empathy by noticing André’s feelings and recognizes he feels differently than she does about scary movies. She identifies and appreciates their different tastes in movies, highlighting that they both like the movie night experience, but André doesn’t like scary movies.
2. Consider why.
All around us, people have different ways of seeing the world. Talk with your child about how people can have varied viewpoints or feelings and why might that be.
In “Alma vs. Eddie,” Alma and her cousin Eddie Mambo think pulling pranks on each other is hilarious! At first, they’re both having fun, but after a while, Eddie doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself as much as Alma. What gives? Alma tunes into her thoughts and actions and uses feeling words to describe her emotions. She identifies key elements of the situation, changes perspectives by putting herself in Eddie’s shoes, and asks Abuelo for help to understand how Eddie is feeling. She acknowledges that how she acts affects Eddie and decides to apologize.
3. Notice how people are similar and different.
Ask your child to talk about some of the ways in which people can be similar and different from one another. For example: Alma and her family are Puerto Rican American and her neighbor Rafia and her family are Bangladeshi-American. In some ways, they are similar (Alma and Rafia are both enthusiastic and energetic!) and in some ways, they are different (Alma and her mom wear their hair long and uncovered, and Rafia’s mom, Fatima, and sister, Safina, wear beautifully colored hijabs).
4. View a situation from all sides of the story.
In times of conflict or misunderstanding, help your child step back and listen to others’ points of view. In “Alma Clues In,” it’s a hot day in the Bronx, and Alma’s friends André and Rafia can’t wait to get to the park to enjoy a sweet, icy piragua. When Alma arrives at the park, the piragua is gone, and her friends are angry at each other for allegedly eating the snack. Alma notices that Rafia and André are upset, so she helps them see each other’s different points of view.
5. Think things through.
Encourage your child to consider how others might respond to difficult situations. How can your child recognize how others might feel? What might influence choices that are made during difficult situations? Encourage your child to think about how they might respond.
In “No-Go Mofongo,” Mami whips up some mofongo for the family cookout using an old recipe from Alma’s great-grandmother. But when Alma sneaks a taste, she realizes it’s a “no-go” and tries to fix it by herself since Mami is so busy. Alma models perspective-taking and empathy by recognizing Mami might feel embarrassed about her mofongo and identifying the consequence of Mami feeling embarrassed if it's not fixed versus feeling happy if it's delicious.
Talking through a character’s viewpoints and emotions with children after watching a show together is one way to help them broaden their understanding of what it means to be part of a family, local neighborhood, and global network. By Kayla Craig