Education

KinderCare Wants Parents To Talk About ‘Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion’ At Home With Their Six-Week-Old Children

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Chrissy Clark Contributor
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A for-profit child care facility is encouraging parents to talk about “anti-racism” and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” at home with their children as young as six weeks old.

KinderCare, a child care network headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is telling parents that “it’s never too early” to teach children about “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) in the home. The organization’s DEI homepage promised to introduce students to “culturally responsive teaching,” which places students’ identity and emotions at the center of their education.

“Whether your child is six weeks old or in the sixth grade, they’re ready to learn how to practice empathy, compassion and understanding,” the DEI homepage reads. “And everything they do — from reading books and making art to even having lunch — can be experienced through an anti-bias lens.”

KinderCare’s DEI page includes resources for bringing DEI lessons into the home. Parents with babies are encouraged to read books that “show different cultures, identities, and characters,” listen to new music genres, and share “little tastes of food” from “different cuisines.” According to the website, naming feelings for a baby can also “help interrupt the development of biases.”

Parents of pre-school children were told to “point out stereotypes and biases” in the media and books. The graphic cites the example of pointing out “who is and isn’t represented in roles like doctors, lawyers, firefighters, villains, and heroes.”

Parents of school-age children are told to involve their kids in “conversations about fairness and justice.” Children as young as six years old are encouraged to “reflect on their own privilege and areas where they lack privilege,” according to the graphic. The definitions and advocacy of “equity” and “equality” are also being taught to children.

The same webpage also has a calendar that showcases no traditional American holidays such as July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Instead, it highlights Black History Month and International Women’s Day in the spring, Juneteenth and Pride month in the summer and Indigenous People’s Day in the fall.

Screenshot/KinderCare Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Screenshot/KinderCare Diversity, Equity, and InclusionScreenshot/KinderCare Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Screenshot/KinderCare Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Screenshot/KinderCare Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

KinderCare’s website also has a blog post about developing “anti-racist kids.” According to the blog, white parents must talk about racism with their kids and help their children become involved in advocacy.

“Conversations about injustice and racism might be new to some white families,” the blog post reads. “But now more than ever, it’s clear that we all need to teach our kids about racism and even more importantly, how to be an anti-racist.”

KinderCare’s messaging is similar to guidance released by Arizona’s Department of Education, which encouraged parents to talk about race with children as young as three months old. Parents were told that their “silence about race reinforces racism by letting children draw their own conclusions based on what they see.”

Similar messaging was presented to Hasbro employees during a DEI training session. Children “as young as two are already using race to reason about people’s behaviors,” the training claimed. (RELATED: American Express Teaches Its Employees That Saying ‘Everyone Can Succeed Through Hard Work’ Is A Microaggression)

The child care network’s webpage states that educators are asked to undergo DEI training as well.

KinderCare did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.