Canada's ever-changing mosaic has created new sensitivity within childcare programs across the country. Meeting the multicultural needs of children has become a primary focus amoung those who work in the field of early childhood education, and it is naturally important to parents in choosing childcare services, as well.

Setting an Example
Today, Canadian families represent a wide variety of cultures who have their own languages, practices and lifestyles. Immigration has been a part of the fabric of our society, and newcomers will continue to arrive in the future. The city of Toronto has been called the most multicultural city in the world and is made up of people from an estimated 169 nations.

Given these facts, it is essential for parents and caregivers alike to be aware of the importance of preparing children to live and learn with people who may be very different from them. Teaching children to value differences can encourage their own self-esteem while protecting them from bias and discrimination. As we all know, children aren't born with prejudice; they see other children as potential playmates. It is only after hearing discriminatory remarks or witnessing examples of prejudice that children develop these beliefs. This is why it is a good idea to begin during the toddler years to promote positive attitudes and behaviours in children.

Cheri Szereszewski, a certified early childhood educator and consultant practicing in Richmond Hill, Ontario, says that most Canadian daycares incorporate the concept of accepting religious or cultural differences into their philosophy statements. She recommends a number of things that daycare centres can do to support new immigrant families or those for whom English is a second language.

"If a childcare centre is in a community that has a large number of immigrants, they can ensure that printed materials, such as application/policies/philosophy statements, are translated into the languages of the parents," she says. Using translators in the community when necessary and becoming familiar with the culture and customs of the countries represented in the community are other suggestions.

For many young children, a daycare is their first time away from their home and family, which is culturally familiar. In order to ease this transition, Szereszewski recommends that daycare workers use the same strategies with immigrant children as they would with any child. "It is important to identify the similarities rather than the differences," she says. For example, the childcare provider can tell the children that we all have eyes, ears, hair, smiles and families while pointing out that we are all unique in our own ways.

Celebrating Our Unique Differences
Mary Anne Santiago understands the need for multicultural awareness in daycare, as both a parent of biracial children who attend daycare and through her job at Topcliff Community Daycare Centre in Toronto, Ontario. She has a diploma in early childhood education and feels that Canadian daycare centres are making an effort to address the needs of multicultural communities such as the one in which she lives and works. "Our daycare centre recognizes all of the holidays and festivals of the children registered in the daycare,” she says. “Our bulletin boards are filled with multicultural photos and art.”

Santiago sees parental input as being extremely important. "I have coordinated a multicultural pot luck dinner and social for children and parents where parents were asked to cook a dish that is native to their home country that they will share with all in attendance," she says. "Children were encouraged to wear traditional clothing from their native country and were involved in a cultural fashion show."

In choosing daycare for her own children, who are of African-Canadian and Filipino heritage, Santiago wanted to make sure that the staff was culturally sensitive and culturally representative of the community in which she lived. She has been pleased with the programming and the fact that the staff at her children’s daycare does celebrate diversity.

Szereszewski has a number of ideas for programs that will teach children in daycare to celebrate diversity. Here are just a few:

1. Listen to music, and sing songs in a variety of languages and from different countries.
   
2. Translate children's names into different languages.
   
3. Read books that show people and families of different cultures, and learn and play games from around the world.
   
4. Explore foods from other cultures by cutting out pictures and making a collage, putting together a recipe book of each family's favourite recipe or having diverse foods and snacks as part of the regular menu.

Community Awareness
The Early Childhood Education Diploma program offered at Canadian Community Colleges includes a one-semester course that focuses on anti-bias/multicultural programming and awareness. But everyone who tries to educate children in this area needs to be aware of their own cultural baggage.

In her article Multiculturalism Beyond Tokenism, published by Child & Family Canada, Rakel Goiri, a childcare provider with University Settlement Day Care in Toronto, Ontario, points out how our daily interactions are affected by our deep-rooted beliefs. She believes that it is the responsibility of childcare professionals to become aware of their own learned behaviours and biases in order improve their ability to relate to families of different backgrounds.

Parents can also play a major role in supporting anti-bias learning in children. They can encourage their children to explore customs of other cultures while at the same time promoting their own positive cultural identities. Together, parents, childcare providers and children can explore the exciting world of human diversity and learn essential skills for the 21st century.

Want to see more?

• Toddlers in Daycare: Easing the Transition
• Selecting Quality Childcare
• Teaching Tolerance: Closing the Book on Hate
• Talk about it!