Aditi W. Singh - Raising Diverse Stories

04/08/2024

04/08/2024

03/08/2024

I was just talking about this to a fellow creator. The work done bt DEI / Multicultural creators is rooted in the awareness that we don't have all the answers. We want to learn about others and their lives so we can grow with them.

We wonder, we find answers and we share the same.

Majority of the world though is filled with people unaware of what they DO NOT know and content is judging others based on their own limited knowledge and experience. And THAT is the root of all online hate and cancel culture.

This is why is it so important we talk to our kids about the importance simply GAINING KNOWLEDGE but also building empathy and heart by always thinking about how another may feel.

And this happens through stories : movies, books, conversations...

02/08/2024

This day, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq n a few weeks later, we were in India with a suitcase of diapers n nothing else.

Brings back so many memories. Sigh ! Life as I knew it changed. Moving homes is hard enough. But if you have to do it under duress, at the age of 10 leaving everything you own and know behind it is life altering.

I woke up to Kuwait being invaded. A new reality. It's been so long but these are some of the most vivid memories of my life. Life changed over night. Leaving your house and having nothing and still being able to rebuild and grow. I shudder to think what it was like for my parents. A couple, who like me built a home in a country, away from family , with two kids aged 10 and 6 months.

I still had it easier than many others. Makes materialism seem ridiculous! Selfishness just ruins everything. Kindness and compassion can help you through almost anything.

THIS is why all that's happening is harder on me than most. Coz I fear history repeating itself, as it often does. And it is heart wrenching. Seeing your home..lost, destroyed, left behind is not easy.

Be kind everyone!

Kuwait will always be home. The memories will always hurt. And now I can't ever go back to Kuwait and am at a time, when I don't even know when I will see my parents next again.

😢 💔 Every year I reread myself this experience of the gulf war that I penned with heart after decades. -

🔗https://raisingworldchildren.com/2017/08/02/gulf-war-experience-how-was-kuwait/

{Kuwait, Gulf war, refugee, multicultural, third culture life, third culture kid, gulfie kids }

02/08/2024

The life of an Olympian is demanding, but throw parenthood into the mix and it becomes a Herculean task.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 features an on-site nursery, the first of its kind, aimed at providing an opportunity to spend more quality time with their children during the Olympics.

This Olympic Village nursery, spearheaded by the American track star Allyson Felix, will support supermums like Clarisse Agbegnenou, Naomi Osaka and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in balancing their podium dreams with parenthood as they tackle the tatami, court and track.

IOC Athlete Commissioner Felix said: "I just knew how difficult it was to compete at the top level after I had my daughter and some practical things were really hard. And so when I joined the Athletes Commission of the IOC, I really wanted to be that voice for athlete moms and just take away one less thing for them to worry about in the pressure of competition. I think it really tells women that you can choose motherhood and also be at the top of your game and not have to miss a beat."

📝Information from the official Olympics website🏅

📷 Image from Washington Post featuring Olympian, runner, and mother Elle St Pierre 🏃🏼‍♀️

02/08/2024

FREE EVENT 🖥📚

More than learning Hindi, we need to give kids the opportunities to practice Hindi in ways They are familiar with.

With this thought in mind, I bring to you three fun sessions to pick from. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Register via link in bio or let me know if you want to attend and I will send you the link.

Share. Share. Share 🎤🎤🎤

Registration link in comments.

01/08/2024

My daughter starts middle school tomorrow. Tonight just before bed, we did another pre-middle school task that is far more important than the others.

I gave her a tube of toothpaste and asked her to sq**rt it out onto a plate. When she finished, I calmly asked her to put all the toothpaste back in the tube.

She began exclaiming things like "But I can't!" and "It won't be like it was before!" I quietly waited for her to finish and then said the following:

"You will remember this plate of toothpaste for the rest of your life. Your words have the power of life or death. As you go into middle school, you are about to see just how much weight your words carry.

You are going to have the opportunity to use your words to hurt, demean, slander and wound others. You are also going to have the opportunity to use your words to heal, encourage, inspire and love others.

You will occasionally make the wrong choice; I can think of three times this week I have used my own words carelessly and caused harm. Just like this toothpaste, once the words leave your mouth, you can't take them back. Use your words carefully, Breonna.

When others are misusing their words, guard your words. Make the choice every morning that life-giving words will come out of your mouth. Decide tonight that you are going to be a life-giver in middle school.

Be known for your gentleness and compassion. Use your life to give life to a world that so desperately needs it. You will never, ever regret choosing kindness."

31/07/2024

A lot of parents want to know how to prepare their kids to start school for the first time. Skip the flash cards and teach them the below things:

Self-Help
- How to open and close containers. Specifically the kind you’ll put in their lunch boxes.
- How to put on a jacket so that the sleeves don’t get pulled through. How to fix the jacket if the sleeves do get pulled through. How to zip it up.
- How to zip and snap or button pants.
- Your child will be the holy grail of their class if they can tie their shoes.

Personal Care:
- TO GO TO THE BATHROOM WITH THE DOOR CLOSED. Lawd. Please teach them this. It may be no big deal at home, but it will be at school if they expose themselves to an entire classroom full of their friends.
- How to pump soap. How to properly wash their hands. To turn the sink off and dry their hands.

Social:
- How to wait and take turns.
- How to share. How to compromise.
- How to listen and follow 2 step directions. (First, take your jacket off. Then put it on the hanger) If you want to get crazy - try 3 step!

Language:
- Build vocabulary with them! Talk to them. Use big words. Explain what they mean. When they start to learn to read, it’ll be much easier for them to identify a word that is already in their vocabulary.
- Help them build their own language and memory by reflecting. Tell them what you need at the grocery store. When you get there, ask “What did we come to the store for?”
- Make them ask a question! Don’t let them say “I’m thirsty” and hand them a glass of water. You are being their problem solver, rather than having them find their own solutions. Teach them to ask for what they need. “Can I please have a glass of water?

Coping Skills:
- Talk very intentionally about strategies to deal with emotions.
- “When you’re feeling scared, let’s try doing box breaths.”
- “If you’re feeling sad, what’s something happy that you could think about to cheer you up?”

Your child will be ready to learn if you can just work on these things. All the academic stuff will come! You don’t need to pound their tiny brains full of memorized facts. Just work with them in developing as a tiny human 🙂

Via Geiger Elementary

For virtual and homeschooling resources head over to website in first comment.

31/07/2024

That time when I was featured by The Storytime Box alongside Lisa Caprelli from Unicorn Jazz. So important to have kids read books with multicultural and diverse characters in them.



This festive season would be a great time to gift your kids an award winning children's books like , or Sanyas New Starts (early chapter book) or Ameyas Two Worlds (all about weddings) with brother sister siblings who love to spend time with each other while learning about the world.

Check it via comments

31/07/2024

I think this is very relatable to Indians too.. maybe South Asian parents all have similar mindset..

31/07/2024

Back-to-school reminder from MindShift and KQED...

31/07/2024

Back to school shopping is annoying 😑

30/07/2024

Teachers !! Have you read to your class yet?

It is a story that help children explore the beauty of the similarities and differences between Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.

🎄🕎🎆

It empowers children reading it with -

🧡Social skils one should enjoy during festive seasons
🧡How to make celebrations more inclusive
🧡Understand the origins of multiple cultural festivities

As a bonus, it encourages picky eaters to try new foods too!!!

👉Go to RaisingWorldchildren.com for audio-visual versions of the book and the lesson plans that go along with it.
....

30/07/2024

Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, religion, physical attractiveness or sexual orientation.

For example, automatically judging others to be lazy or unhygienic because they are poor would be an example of classism. The brief answer to the question, "what is classism?" is prejudice against people of a given socio-economic class.

Harsher treatment of minority students compared to their non-minority counterparts on punishments like: Suspension. Unfair grading policies. The allowance of discriminatory behavior perpetrated by other students in the classroom.

Sometimes bullying includes discrimination, like if someone picks on you because of your race or sexuality. Sometimes people discriminate without realising what they're doing, like making racist jokes or calling someone insulting names. Whether it's done on purpose or not, bullying and discrimination is always wrong.

Discrimination can also be found in homes where a gender is treated unfairly compared to another where expectation of servitude exists or submissiveness is expected for no cause...

It's important we discuss these cases and more with our kids and ensure age appropriate tools are given to them to be stronger within and bolder in their reactions, as needed. Knowing we have their BACK.

Have YOU experienced discrimination? Share for others in comments below.

30/07/2024

29/07/2024

Evolution of traditions are crucial for growth. The thali you will see there are no traditional laddoos but choclate. As kids don't prefer laddos or Indian sweets too much and is pretty much their day, I add a choclate or dessert or their favorite cookies they love to the thali.

This applies to the actual traditon also.

Same way, as with changing times, Rakhi is no more the traditonal sister ties thread to brother celebration anymore. It's a celebration of the sibling bond, between boys, girls, girls and boys. When we were young, we didn't just tie to our sibling, it would be tieing to cousins and friends who are like that.

Safe to say with times, this too has changed.

Both my kids tie rakhi to each other and exchange gifts. It's a celebration of their LOVE for each other. They PROMISE to care for each other, fight and make up 😁 and be there no matter what.

My book is an ode to the and a perfect read for Rakhi. Have Rakhi evolved within their house hold? Some ways kids can build life lessons those is by

1. Buying gifts for each other under a given amount.
2. Make cards for each other.
3. Cooking the meal together as a family, setting up the table fancy - the day of.
4. Help decorating the together.
5. Listen to stories and talk about all the wonderful reasons they love each other.

Check out my post on Raisingworldchildren.com about how we have added a modern game to our festivities.

Rakhi is August 19th.

© Aditi Wardhan Singh
RaisingWorldChildren.com

28/07/2024

The biggest learning in life is accepting that which you cannot change and being kind to those who you cannot understand be it choice in food, traditions, choices or politics...

I have seen it so many times that when seemingly standing up for one, people try to put down others. Your heart May be heavy but if you become the very thing you detest, you are helping no one.

Remember to have grace for others in different situations and self when being inclusive and building equity.

Above all hate is love. Don't ever let your love for one become hate for another.

26/07/2024

You Need to Know. HOW TO EMPOWER KIDS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, religion, physical attractiveness or sexual orientation.

For example, automatically judging others to be lazy or unhygienic because they are poor would be an example of classism. The brief answer to the question, "what is classism?" is prejudice against people of a given socio-economic class.

Harsher treatment of minority students compared to their non-minority counterparts on punishments like: Suspension. Unfair grading policies. The allowance of discriminatory behavior perpetrated by other students in the classroom.

Sometimes bullying includes discrimination, like if someone picks on you because of your race or sexuality. Sometimes people discriminate without realising what they're doing, like making racist jokes or calling someone insulting names. Whether it's done on purpose or not, bullying and discrimination is always wrong.

Discrimination can also be found in homes where a gender is treated unfairly compared to another where expectation of servitude exists or submissiveness is expected for no cause...

It's important we discuss these cases and more with our kids and ensure age appropriate tools are given to them to be stronger within and bolder in their reactions, as needed. Knowing we have their BACK.

Have YOU experienced discrimination? Share for others in comments below.

Read tips via link in FIRST COMMENT

26/07/2024

Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, religion, physical attractiveness or sexual orientation.

For example, automatically judging others to be lazy or unhygienic because they are poor would be an example of classism. The brief answer to the question, "what is classism?" is prejudice against people of a given socio-economic class.

Harsher treatment of minority students compared to their non-minority counterparts on punishments like: Suspension. Unfair grading policies. The allowance of discriminatory behavior perpetrated by other students in the classroom.

Sometimes bullying includes discrimination, like if someone picks on you because of your race or sexuality. Sometimes people discriminate without realising what they're doing, like making racist jokes or calling someone insulting names. Whether it's done on purpose or not, bullying and discrimination is always wrong.

Discrimination can also be found in homes where a gender is treated unfairly compared to another where expectation of servitude exists or submissiveness is expected for no cause...

It's important we discuss these cases and more with our kids and ensure age appropriate tools are given to them to be stronger within and bolder in their reactions, as needed. Knowing we have their BACK.

Have YOU experienced discrimination? Share for others in comments below.

26/07/2024

* * Letting go of emotions and stuff . **

I hate "stuff". Clutter puts me off like nothing else. Growing up in a house FULL of "stuff" I have grown to be on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Being an expat in the Gulf had my parents buying two or MORE of each thing. The Gulf war happened, and that meant they lost EVERYTHING in the first home they buit together as a NEWLY MARRIED couple. I can not even imagine, but there there you have it.

What happened next was the double buying, so if they ever had to lose it all again, they were prepared. So everything was one for their home in Kuwait and one for their home in India. They loved hosting parties, so they had a LOT of stuff in each house to begin with. The ultimate environmentalists they never used paper plates, so that meant so many crockery pieces and things that they found useful. Every empty bottle in the home was reused, and every thing that could be repurposed was, WAS.

I admire that about them, BUT it also meant we were also surrounded by things. And when they retired all of it quadrupled into one home because, of course, they couldn't put away any of what they had, for what if we needed it?

Constantly, my mom and I got into arguments about throwing away my 10th standard books. About going minimalistic. About having less to clean and do around the house. And it was always the same arguments. You have no idea what we will need when.

Why do I share this?

Because this is a HUGE part of the life of an immigrant. The constant fear of losing it all. And especially if you DO lose it all like my family did, it takes a deep seated angst in your heart that fissures your rationality in things.

Most importantly, the children in the home of an immigrant see things in many, many ways, and the time to adapt to age is essential.

Yes, we all want those pretty things to beautify our homes but there has to be that line you draw on things you need vs things you just have because you MAY need them.

Be mindful of how you perceive what you Need to keep in your life. Are you keeping them from fear or love? Letting go may just be the cure your home and heart need. ❤️

25/07/2024

This message is for people who think, "If I can do it, so can everyone. "

Don't measure others' actions by the yard stick of your experiences.

24/07/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I bought this book for myself to refresh my Hindi writing and assist with translation.

The author did such a good job of breaking down the consonants and using basic, common words to help the reader understand when to use each letter. I highly recommend this book as a tool to learn to write in Hindi.

Link to get book in comments