Fostering Diversity
Fostering Diversity For centuries, there has been an ongoing debate about which impacts a person more: their genes or their environment. In other words, nature versus nurture.
The research into this question is beyond the scope of this post; however, we can all agree that they both play an important role. Regardless of which you think has a greater effect, as a father you contribute to both! Today, on Dadography, we talk a little bit about one dad’s experience with the nurture aspect of the equation.
Hennie Marais, a father of two, is someone whose environment has played a huge role in shaping who he is. Knowing this, he’s trying to make sure that his kids have diversity in their environment, so that they grow up with an open mind. He currently lives with his family in Panamá, but was born and raised in South Africa during the time of Apartheid. After serving in the police force there for a number of years, he started his own dive shop, where his instructors were some of the first to cage-dive with great white sharks.
He and his wife then relocated to the islands of São Tomé and Principe off the coast of West Africa, and it was there that his life outlook changed. As he puts it, he came from South Africa being a “conservative, militaristic guy”; but, after seeing the abject poverty that many people on the islands lived in, his mind was opened to what life was like for many in the rest of the world.
Understanding that he had a lot more to learn, he looked for opportunities to move out of Africa, and landed a job in Panamá, where he lived in the Darien for a number of years before moving to the city. Living in different places, and now having the opportunity to raise his kids in a city that is a proverbial melting pot, Hennie has seen, first-hand, the impact that a person’s environment can have on them. Being exposed to so many different races and cultures in Panamá has really widened the viewpoint of his kids, something he notices when they travel and interact with the persons they meet along the way.
Hennie knows that continuing to foster diversity in his kids’ lives is something that will leave them better prepared to face the challenges they will face in the future. So, what’s in his toolbox?
Tools for your Toolbox
• Be deliberate in exposing your kids to different countries, cultures, races, and activities. If you have the opportunity, travel to other countries, or, even live in another country for a period of time. How you are accustomed living is not the only way there is, and seeing how others do things can help expand your mindset. You don’t, however, have to go abroad to get the same effect. Within your own country interact with, and get to know, people of different races, backgrounds, and cultures; think about how their life experiences have helped to shape the person they are. Encourage your kids to do the same, and talk to them about the differences they see.
• Expose your children to different sources of information. Hennie grew up at a time where information was often censored and controlled by the government. Nowadays, we have access to a lot of different sources of information; however, it is really easy to only look for material that supports how we already think. We should, therefore, try to be deliberate in exposing ourselves, and our kids, to different viewpoints.
• Be sure to do things with your kids. Life can be a struggle – so many things to do, so little time – and it is tempting to leave your kids with their ‘digital babysitters’, i.e. video games and tablets. It’s really important, though, to do things with your children. Simple activities such as going to the beach, going on a hike, playing board games, or camping can help you spend quality time together. Participating in group activities in your area, where your children get to interact with different people, can also help to widen their perspective.
There is no doubt that the communities we live in, the media we consume, and the people we hang out with have an effect on the type of people we become, and the way we see the world. It is also easy to think that our perspective is correct, and will never change. Experiencing different cultures and interacting with people from different backgrounds not only helps us to appreciate how many different viewpoints exist, but also engenders empathy and understanding – traits that we should want in our kids.
We encourage you to be deliberate in fostering diversity in your kids’ lives; we certainly think it helps to make them truly global citizens.