Children in intercultural homes eventually realize they may not look and may not have the same traditions or experiences as other kids in books or at school. They may face questions such as “Where are you from?” or commentary about their food, dress, or other cultural things.
Work with your children to on “scripts” they can follow to address these sorts of issues with pride rather than confusion. Develop a sense of both/and where instead of thinking they are one thing or another, they are 100% of a brand new and unique identity.
Be flexible if your child prefers to avoid situations where cultural things may come up, for example if they are reluctant to take a unique cultural food to school for lunch.
It is very common for children, as they reach school age, to want to fit in with the dominant local culture. They may refuse to speak another language or feel embarrassed by traditional clothing or food.
This is an important phase of social integration for your child, and instead of making culture a chore or something which can cause a child to reject culture even more, provide positive connections that they are going to be more receptive too. Focus on connecting the culture to things that they like, which can be music, sports stars or special treats, to keep the connection positive and voluntary.
Understanding the desire to fit in, accommodate your child in other cultural areas, and within your family context, you can more easily keep them connected. Ask them what their favorite cultural foods may be and make those at home.
This is an important skill for children to develop in terms of being able to navigate a wide range of social situations and environments. Like how they learn that you try to keep quiet in a library but can be louder at a playground by you communicating the situational expectations, the same applies to relative’s houses and multicultural situations.
Explaining that at a relative’s house, they should show respect by behaving in a certain way, can help them develop their sense of context and a connection to their culture.
Multicultural Families 