I am a big advocate for teaching children diversity from a young age as the ‘norm,’ as opposed to teaching them the more common, majority ways first, leaving them to adapt, or not adapt, to differences later in life. Why make an issue of the differently-abled individuals or categorize them by the mobility aids they use? I think it’s a prejudgment to say majority ways are inherently easier for a child to comprehend, and sticking solely with tradition forces an unnecessary adjustment for the child as an adult (please see my post Direction that Doesn’t Direct Us in the ‘Spinning My Wheels’ category.)

Why do people create more likelihood of bigotry by separating groups at the get-go? It’s the adults who have the problems with diversity; children are innocent, open, and resilient.

We are obligated to be careful, at least, if we choose to ’embellish the truth’ to kids though. A friend of mine with Dwarfism tells kids he’s small because he was put in the dryer. This is all fun and playful if it doesn’t scare the hell out of the kids! My feeling is that the simple truth is best, because confusion, caused by not knowing which truth to believe, is the root of bigotry.

Please see my post Dreams of Being a Mother in the ‘Pop-a-wheelies’ category.