Welcoming Diverse Families

A family from Nigeria has recently immigrated into the United States and their female child will be enrolling into the daycare center that I am employed. The family is from the Delta State part of Nigeria where female education is not as serious as the boys. In an article provided by the UNFPA, Nigerian Girls, states that poverty and economic issues, early marriage and teenage pregnancy, inadequate school infrastructure and cultural and religious misinterpretation are the main issues that prevent girls from going to school compared to the boys. (UNFIEC, 2007) As child care director, I would have to educate myself and my staff on ways to first communicate with this family. We need to know what gestures offend this family as well as their surface and deep culture. We have to be aware of our personal or hidden biases. We have to learn ways to understand their mission for enrolling their child into this program. Once we understand the family’s mission for their child, we can begin to further help them with needed resources to understand the center’s mission to educate young children. Opening communication doors can involve the director asking questions to see if the family needs further assistance that the program can offer, such as resources for housing, employment and so on. I think that this will help to break cultural barriers when help is offered from the people that will be embracing their child. Understanding their rituals and beliefs is also important to understand and made a note of for future events that may go against their cultural beliefs. Allowing the child to bring items from home will help the child with the transition. In conclusion, welcoming the family and fully understanding their individual need is important to their child’s process. The family enrolling their child into the program should be a must know that this family goes against the fact that girls education is not equal as the boys in the area that they are from and values their female child’s education. Reference: UNFIEC. (2007). Nigerians Girls. Nigeria Country Office http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Nigeria_Factsheets_GirlsEducation.pdf