Now that 45 percent of U.S. children under age 5 are part of a racial minority, children need additional skills for coping with the increased globalization of our society.
Do you know of at least one family who has adopted internationally? Does your child attend school with children from different ethnic or multicultural backgrounds? Do your family or business relationships reflect our increasingly culturally diverse population?
More than likely, your answers to one or more of these questions is “yes.” Inter-country adoptions increased from 5% to 15% of all adoptions in the U.S. from 1992 to 2001, and the number of immigrant
visas issued to adopted children coming to the U.S. increased 13% from 2002 to 2005.
Along with a continued rise in our population’s ethnic diversity, there is a growing need to heighten our children’s awareness and understanding of other cultures. As parents, we are also faced with the challenge of promoting positive character traits and values in our children that help them cope with the demands of a global society.
Parents, educators, and others interested in helping children grow up with a positive self-image and good character need the proper tools to promote positive childhood character development. They also need to be promoting the qualities of character that are universally recognized by people of many religions and cultures.
Mastering the skills that will help our “global kids” get along with others, develop their curiosity and intellect, acquire an open mind, accomplish goals in the face of opposition, and build the civic strengths that underlie healthy community life is the subject of this series of articles.
A discussion of building positive character traits in children begins with a proper understanding of which values and skills are the most important and which ones transcend national and cultural boundaries. The fields of positive psychology and character education have done much in the past decade to scientifically define, study, measure, and encourage application of the character strengths.
Research into the areas of character development has identified a stable set of 24 character traits that are valued in almost every culture in the world. These characteristics are the most well researched collection to date of the positive traits most valued by moral philosophers, religious thinkers, and educators across different eras and cultures.
You might be surprised to learn that many twenty-first century North American values — such as self-esteem, good looks, assertiveness, autonomy, uniqueness, wealth, and competitiveness — are not universally desired in different cultures across the world. These values are not necessarily bad, they just do not represent those traits that are most often associated with the concept of “good character” across the globe.
In Part Two, you will learn more about what research has shown to be right about people and specifically about the strengths of character that help them live good lives and be successful in a
global world.
Dr. Richard Rawson, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice who has been helping individuals and families for over 20 years to make desirable and sustainable changes in their mental and emotional well-being and quality of life. He is also a founder of JamboKids Company, Inc.
JamboKids celebrates cultural diversity and promotes positive character development in children ages 3-8 with a new line of exciting adventure storybooks, huggable soft fabric dolls, a fun interactive web site, and resources for parents and educators.
The JamboKids characters represent children from many different backgrounds from all over the world. They serve as culturally relevant role models for their young readers and viewers, exhibiting positive qualities of character that are universally recognized by people of many religions and cultures.
Tags: cultural diversity