Hi, I’m Vanessa!
Welcome to Families Embracing Diversity! I’m so happy you’re here.
I’m a mom of a crazy, sweet four-year-old boy. His dad is from Mexico, we all speak Spanish together at home and are blessed to have wonderful friends whose families look a lot like ours.
I really assumed that he would just automatically grow up being a multicultural kid and accepting diversity as a way of life.
I was wrong.
One day, on the way home from school, at the ripe age of three, he began asking me why his Papi has brown skin and ours is “grey”.
I stumbled through a hodgepodge answer but he was not convinced.
“Mommy, I don’t like Papi’s skin….it’s yucky. I wish he were grey like us.” He contested.
My heart sunk. A lump formed in my throat. I was speechless.
Over the next several months, this conversation happened time and time again. I researched different answers but none of them seemed to satisfy my curious son.
In that moment, I knew my parenting had to change. I couldn’t just passively raise my child hoping he’d learn to accept diversity through osmosis. I had to intentionally raise a multicultural child- the harmony of our family depended on it.
The Birth of Families Embracing Diversity
The more I learned about multicultural parenting, the more convinced I became that this is not just an issue for families like mine. All of us need to be intentionally raising multicultural kids. We need to show them how to love and embrace the diversity around us and show them the way to a better tomorrow.
So, I created Families Embracing Diversity for other moms like me who are tired of this world full of hatred, fear, prejudice, and violence. This is for moms who are hungry for changing and willing to work for it. Families Embracing Diversity is for any family brave enough to embrace diversity, parent differently, and change our world one child at a time.
I don’t pretend to be an expert. This is a place for us to learn and grow together.
If you want to learn more, here are some of my most popular posts:
The Beginners Guide to Raising Multicultural Children
Expert Tips for Raising Multicultural Kids
How to Notice Your Cultural Lens
I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks again for stopping by.
If you haven’t already, be sure to download our free eBook to get some great ideas for talking with your kids about race!
I can’t wait to get to know you and your beautiful family as we explore ways to become families embracing diversity together.
Take care,
Vanessa