Culture is social behaviour, or the rules that all people follow in society. It includes art, food, beliefs, customs, traditions, etc. It basically provides identity to particular groups of people. Every community has different customs and traditions, but share the same respect for emotions and moral values. The only difference is that culture enables people to follow certain rules and regulations set in their communities. There is a lot of diversity among people in terms of language, food, dance, music, beliefs, etc.
Culture does not allow people to isolate themselves from others, instead, it brings them together. Moral values and emotions create strong bonds between people. Therefore, you need to teach the importance of cultural values to kids from an early age. It is important for them to learn how to respect and value others, irrespective of their background. To enhance their understanding, you can make them read and write culture essays on a regular basis. It will help them to love and show care for other people.
To make them understand about culture, you can come up with interesting activities so that they can practically understand what you’re teaching them. Sometimes, young children might not pay attention to what you speak, or when you explain things in a verbal or textual format. But, there are more chances of grabbing their attention with the help of engaging activities. This will help them to learn about each other’s culture and treat everyone equally.
Interesting Ways to Teach Culture to Kids
A few tips for teaching culture to your children are mentioned below:
- Drama: This is one of the most entertaining activities which will help children learn more about culture and traditions. You can assign a situation or a topic, related to custom and traditions that has to be enacted in the form of drama. You can give them interesting costumes and captivating dialogues that create bonds between people regardless of background.
- Poems: Read to children or encourage them to write poems on culture and traditions in a creative way. You can teach the importance of respecting each other’s customs and traditions in the form of poems. This is the best way to express your thoughts and feelings about anything that you want to share with others.
- Cooking: Every community or region has their own staple food. You can make children cook specific cuisine belonging to a particular region under the supervision of parents or older family members. This will make them aware of the diversity of food across the world.
- Talent Show: Conduct events where kids can showcase their talent in dance, music, playing instruments, participating in fancy dress, etc. With this, kids can learn from other cultures.
- Art and Crafts: To enhance their creativity and understanding of culture, you can make them do painting or some craft work related to themes of a particular region or place. This will help kids learn about the diverse art and culture of other backgrounds.
Importance of Teaching Culture to Kids
Understanding the culture and traditions of each other, builds strong relationships between people. Therefore, teaching kids the importance of culture is extremely beneficial. Engaging activities such as talent shows, cooking, reading poems or teaching crafts for kids related to themes of different cultures, help them stay connected with people around them, irrespective of their background. Some of the benefits of teaching culture to children are mentioned below:
- It teaches equality, love and respect for each other.
- It treats all people equally, irrespective of people’s different backgrounds.
- It enables children to learn about different art forms and traditions of people.
- It promotes expression of thoughts and ideas with each other.
- It motivates children to share and care for each other.
It helps children to take forward the culture and traditions from one generation to another.