Maddy and Syd feeding an elephant in Thailand
I have been traveling a lot with my girls and on every trip I get countless questions that essentially have to do with the fact that the American culture is different from the one we are visiting. Questions in Malaysia like "Why do some of the women wear scarves covering their hair and others all black covering their whole body and face?" Or in Thailand, the girls saw ladyboys - men dressed up like women, so that was an interesting question to answer! There are questions about the architecture, languages spoken, practices like bowing and my favorite - why the Indian side-to-side headshake actually means "yes" 
So here are some of the things I have learned about teaching children culture:
1. It's not about teaching Tolerance. Children are born with a strong sense of fairness and tolerance for another culture is almost always a given - more what they experience is curiosity, and in some cases like the ladyboys - definite surprise! But rarely do they judge. So don't go into an experience feeling the need to preach about tolerance and acceptance, because chances are that they are more open-minded than we are!
2. It is really fun to have kids research about the country or culture before they experience it, as well as learn some of the language. My girls favorite part of Thailand (after the elephant ride) was saying Thank You while bowing their heads, and trying to spot pictures of the King.
3. Encourage questions. I know that on a vacation our first instinct is to just relax, but it really is amazing how much I learn from my children's questions. They think of the most interesting questions and I find myself much more connected to the place and people we are visiting because their inquisitive minds made it so much more fun to experience.
4. Make them eat the food! I am really bad at this, but on every trip I make the girls try at least 1 local food that they have never experienced before, and they inevitably end up liking it. From the roti chanai in Malaysia to the Pad Thai with prawns in Thailand, and the butter crab in Singapore - they at first protested, but not long after the food hit their tongues they were hooked!
For those parents that do not travel frequently, I found some cool ideas on the web about how to teach about different cultures at home:
1. Get your children an email pen pal! Try out the site http://www.e-palworld.co.uk/ my daughter Maddy found another girl her age from the UK to be penpals with
2. Check out the site http://www.recipeatlas.com for recipes from around the world that you can make with your Children. This is one of the reasons I love Epcot in Orlando because we walk around to all of the different countries and sample local foods - Yum!
3. Create craft projects from different countries. This book has really cool ideas and is only $10!
Kids Around the World Create!: The Best Crafts and Activities from Many Lands
4. Help your children research their family heritage to see if their ancestors have come from other cultures and countries. Have them interview their grandparents about cultural traditions that they experienced growing up.
As you have probably noticed, I love traveling! Even more though, I love doing it with my girls, seeing their faces when we land at new place, enjoying their interests in all the differences they see around them and their inquisitiveness about the cultures and languages. I hope you all find this post interesting, I would love to hear recommendations on great trips to take with kids, or your favorite places to travel together as a family.
Thanks and happy travels!
Melissa
