All children are born so pure and innocent. They come into the world so full of love. They surely are not born racist or with bigotry. And especially not with hate in their little hearts. Racism and hate have to be taught to children – by families, friends, educators, the media they consume, or by the very broken systems of society.
When I look at my children, I see the innocence and blind love that young children have where they just want to love and get to know everyone. It’s so simple and pure. I wish I could just preserve that in them and let them take their overflowing love and curiosity out into the world to share. But we know it’s much more complicated than that.
Alex and I want to teach our children not just to not be racist, but to be anti-racist. Not just to love the LGBTQIA community, but to support them. To stand up and to try and make the world better for their friends and others in their lives who have been marginalized. We’re the first to tell you that we don’t have all of the answers on how to do this. But we are trying our best. We have to.
One place we know we can make decisions that impact these conversations and teachings for our children and others is our company. When we started Wonder Bunch Media last year, we knew we wanted to use real kids in our apps, not make-believe characters. And from the beginning, it has been important to us that as many children as possible can see themselves in the main Wonder Bunch characters or in characters we introduce along the way. We don’t just want them to see themselves represented, but to see themselves included, helping each other, learning, and leading.
We are thinking about this even more carefully now and listening to and learning from parents and experts to find out how we can be even more intentional with the products we make.
We’re also sharing resources from experts on teaching children about diversity, equity, and inclusion because we know we can’t and shouldn’t try and go it alone.
Parents, you are going through a lot right now, we all are. But personally, I see great hope within our little ones. Maybe if we learn, grow, teach, and act, my children and your children will be part of the generation that takes down the last of the broken systems and creates the inclusive and equitable world we’ve always hoped was possible.
Please email us at info@wonderbunchmedia.com if you know of any resources to help teach children that you think should be amplified and any thoughts you have on improving our products for all children and parents. We’re here to listen and learn.
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