Reply to Suggestions for first-gen kids to integrate well

Forum Index » General Parenting Discussion

Reply to "Suggestions for first-gen kids to integrate well"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is a stereotype that (non-mixed) Asian families don't do playdates, so I think the best thing to do is initiate this sort of social interaction rather than waiting for invitations, because people might assume the same is true for your family.

Be aware of what is a cultural norm even if it seems intuitive to you (taking off shoes). Don't assume your kids' friends are rude for not knowing those norms, even if they seem like something a toddler would know in your family.

At the same time, feel free to share your kids' culture with other families. If their school has a culture night, feel free to bring in food or share a tradition. [/quote]

I agree with the above poster.

I was a white kid growing up in a 90%+ white "engineering suburb" in PA in the 1980s.  My best friend was a Korean American who had relocated from California for 8th grade.  And I had another friend who was Japanese and one who was German.  All of these kids were passing through for just a couple years. (Their dads were on expat assignments.)

I was so excited to be their friend.  My mom raised me to be interested in other people and other countries.  I had my first seaweed sheet at my Japanese friend's house and I liked it.  By the time I had my own kid, all the grocery stores near me had seaweed snacks for sale.  It's not even a specialty thing.  I also learned from the Asian families about taking shoes off when you get home...and now I do that too.

What I remember most is that these friends' parents were interested in talking to me and my parents during our brief opportunities to connect.  They did do driving to kid stuff where we carpooled.  And occasionally if I was over, they would let me try some of their homemade food as a snack.  And they were pretty open about it being okay whether I liked it or didn't like it.

I have great memories.  I lost touch with two of the kids but my Korean-American friend and I stayed in touch when her family moved back to California.  I have visited her a couple times over the years.  Her dad at one point had an employer in common with my dad, so he made some small talk about that with me and my dad.

I think you should follow your kids' lead and see who they befriend and go from there.  You might be able to host a simple birthday party (mini-golf or laser tag) if you want to have a playdate type experience outside your house.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics