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Identity and culture

  1. Top tips on talking to children about cultural identity

    • Accept that your children have interests and hobbies that may be different to the ones you are accustomed to. It helps to show you are interested in what they are doing and to find ways of including these in the family-based ones that you’d like them to embrace.
    • Children will usually adopt the language around them at nursery and school – but this can be difficult for parents who have struggled with learning a new language and prefer communicating in their mother tongue. Treat this as an opportunity for your children to learn your language - being bi-lingual is an excellent skill to possess.
    • Talk about your own upbringing or stories your parents have told you about their childhoods. If possible, encourage them to spend time with relatives such as grandparents –...
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  2. Tips on talking about your child's culture

    • Recognise that if your child is from a different cultural or racial background these may become important as they become older.
    • Be prepared for your child to ask you questions about their culture, their colour and people that you know.
    • Try and understand if your child has times when they are confused about who they are and listen to them if they need to talk.
    • Find out as much as you can about their cultural background and try and understand how this may impact on how they feel about themselves in the future.
    • Make contact with groups, organisations or people from your child's background and find out some of the simple steps you can take to help your child develop a positive view of their identity. For example, skin and hair care, knowledge of...
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  3. Talking about culture

    • Accept that your children have interests and hobbies that may be different to the ones you are accustomed to. It helps to show you are interested in what they are doing and to find ways of including these in the family-based ones that you’d like them to embrace.
    • Children will usually adopt the language around them at nursery and school, but this can be difficult for parents who have struggled with learning a new language and prefer communicating in their mother tongue. Treat this as an opportunity for your children to learn your language - being bi-lingual is an excellent skill to possess.
    • Talk about your own upbringing or stories your parents have told you about their childhoods. If possible, encourage them to spend time with relatives such as grandparents, or...
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  4. Cultural identity: the views of families from black and minority ethnic communities

    Living between two cultures – a ‘British’ way of life and the culture your parents or grandparents grew up with, can be a rich and fulfilling experience – but there can also be conflicts and challenges. When teaching our children about their heritage and the traditions we would like to see them continue, it can be difficult to balance these with the more ‘English’ traditions and ways of life that they are growing up with and embracing. Simple things like food through to language show just how complex this can be.

    “I need more information in cultural issues, how to blend the two cultures, and still keep your origins.”

     Living, studying and working in Britain, obviously shapes some of our values, lifestyle choices and even beliefs....

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