Teaching Tolerance Releases New Handbook to Help Parents Navigate Difficult Conversations About Diversity With Children

MONTGOMERY, Ala., May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program, the award-winning producer of educational materials that promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity, today released its first publication designed specifically for parents.

Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice, will help parents address the difficult issues of bias, stereotypes and racism their children face in an increasingly diverse world.

From answering questions from a 3-year-old curious about why her friend's skin is brown to responding to a 15-year-old who snubs those outside of his social clique, parents face difficult issues and questions concerning diversity. Beyond the Golden Rule is designed to help parents teach their children how to honor those differences in themselves and others -- and to reject prejudice and intolerance.

"What children learn from the behavior of adults and what they see and hear in the world around them during their formative years is critically important in determining their attitudes about race and diversity," said Jennifer Holladay, director of Teaching Tolerance. "This parenting guide will help parents teach positive messages to their children and deal with thorny questions about differences among people in a straightforward fashion."

This groundbreaking handbook features parents sharing personal stories about the challenges and rewards of raising children in today's diverse culture. Additionally, psychologists, educators and parenting experts offer practical, age-appropriate advice to help parents integrate lessons of respect and tolerance into day-to-day activities.

  Three age-specific sections in the handbook offer advice for parents:

  -- Preschool Years, Ages 2-5 -- As toddlers shift their focus to the world
     around them, nearly every sentence begins with "why" and "how." Often
     these questions are about other people and why they are different.

  -- Elementary and Preteen Years, Ages 6-12 -- Moving beyond just noticing
     differences, elementary and preteen youths begin to understand that
     these characteristics, and people's attitudes toward them, often have
     powerful social consequences.

  -- The Teen Years, Ages 13-17 -- As teenagers embark on the quest for
     self-identity, outside influences affect the way they see themselves
     and others more and more. Though they may often appear to communicate
     less, teenagers are still listening, and what their parents say and do
     still matters.

Beyond the Golden Rule is available to parents for a $5 shipping and handling charge. Order forms can be downloaded at http://www.tolerance.org/parents.

Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization that combats hate, intolerance and discrimination through litigation, education and advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.splcenter.org/.