What other ways do you spread inclusiveness in family? Please click here to share your ideas.
Inclusion
Family
Family can be a group in which we feel tremendous inclusion, exclusion, or anything in between. Unfortunately, inclusiveness in family can be hard to find, due to religious, political, race, gender, or sexuality reasons. To be inclusive means to accept and include people into all situations, regardless of their differences. Differences ought to be celebrated and shared, rather than be used as classifications for division.
Inclusion
Family
Even the best intentioned people can exclude others, even without intending to. For this reason it is important to practice inclusivity within and around your family. Examples set by one member of the family can extend to other members, further spreading inclusive attitudes. An article from redtri.com discusses the importance of inclusivity, offering several ways to promote it within the household:
Inclusion
Family
- Surround your family with diverse people. In order to truly practice inclusivity, individual differences between people should be acknowledged and celebrated. To better expose a family to different cultures, seeking out experiences with other families is key. This can mean going to a diverse school, going to cultural events around a city or town, or even just experiencing diversity through diverse media.
- Encourage empathy. Encouraging family members to see issues or experiences from another point of view can encourage empathy. This can help family members relate to people from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- Allow for questions. Inclusivity involves much more than just hanging out with people from different backgrounds. Asking questions about an individual’s difference can be an opportunity for learning.
- Model good behavior. To help cultivate positive change in a family, it often needs to start from one family member. By practicing the behavior you wish to see in your family, they will see the effort and positive effect, and begin to practice the same behaviors.
Inclusion
Family
- Prioritize representation in media and books. In order to develop a well-rounded sense of inclusivity, it is important to consume media from a diverse variety of groups. It is very easy to limit media consumption to your own group, but in doing so, significant messages can be lost.
- Go the extra mile to make accommodations. Often, when groups are marginalized by society, they lose many conveniences that the privileged group gets to take advantage of. If a family member or friend of a family member is part of a marginalized group, making those extra accommodations can help them feel more comfortable, and help one better understand their day to day struggles. This can also help one voice opinion when it comes to public policy or public amenities, such as building more wheelchair accessible parks, or promoting diverse markets for dietary needs.
Practicing inclusiveness can be simple, but it does require some amount of effort. The benefits of inclusivity are vast and plentiful.
What other ways do you spread inclusiveness in family? Please click here to share your ideas, we’d all love to learn more ways to spread inclusion! Be inclusive. Take care and stay connected.
