Introduction
When you migrate from a place where you are accustomed to the traditional way of life, sometimes you get challenges in adapting to the way of life of your new neighbours. This includes the dressing code, foods sold/ those one prepares at home, nature of tasks done by different genders and some habits like worshipping of which one has to learn just like neighbours do in order for the individual to feel part of the community. In the case of children, adopting the new culture is not as complex as in the case of parents. This is because children make friends with other children easily as long as they can communicate in the same language. Children as well may not be in a position to understand cultural habits very much since they usually follow their parent’s way of life, and this is the determinant in the culture they will prefer over other cultures. Parents should not force their children into some cultures but they should instead let the children assimilate into the more dominant cultures where they stay and interact with others. This will make the children to be accepted by their playing mates and other children of their age. Parents have the obligation to guide their children properly on the way of life they expect their children to associate with but they should not decide for the children on what to do.
Culture Trump
According to the writer, people choose a culture to identify with due to the impact of that culture on their lives. The Chinese for instance have a rich history and they like preserving their cultural habits a lot even in foreign countries. They eat Chinese food and in most cases they adopt their traditional way of dressing which includes adorning their clothes and body with some symbolic traditional signs that they believe bring good luck. In this scenario, if the child is from mixed parentage, it is good if the child can be left alone to make decisions on the good habits of each culture to adapt and what not to adapt. This is good for the child since the child gets the opportunity to explore various aspects of both cultures including the foreign one where parents have inhabited now and what the child chooses will be the most suitable.
Physical looks of a child may determine the culture that kid will identify with. If the child has a black and white parent but resembles the black parent more, then parents force that child to adopt white culture and white kids attack this kid because of mimicking their habits, that kid may hate the white culture forever. Alternatively, when parents give the child freedom to choose which side to be inclined to, the child may end up assimilating into both cultures or adopting the more dominant culture as dictated by the peer group. The writer argues, “Chinese trumps Irish, this has something to do with the relative distance of certain cultures from mainstream American culture, but it also has to do with the race”. In this case, the child may prefer the culture that mostly determines how he looks, if the appearance makes others love to associate with the kid, but if they abuse the kid because of the appearance, the child may prefer to associate with other more accommodating cultures.
Parents play a role in the kind of culture that will thrive in the child. This has to do with the way they speak about their cultures and if they will identify with their cultural habits. In these respect, parents are the greatest determinant in the culture their child will adopt and this results from how the child observes parents’ habits. Parents therefore should let the young ones behave freely as they wish since their cultural habits will be dictated by their associations.
The culture to trump also depends on how the child will be received by those around him more, especially other kids whom he plays with and talks to a lot. If a kid is ignored by others because he is from some culture, that kid may not easily identify with that culture. He will try so much to identify with a culture which is widely accepted by his fellow playing mates or adopt a completely new culture as dictated by the surrounding environment. The writer says that “and yet another day, Luke was happily scooting around Cambridge Common playing ground when a pair of older boys, apparently brothers, blocked his way. They shouted ‘you are Chinese!’, he said No!”. Such an accusation and resentment will make a child hate one culture in preference to another one, but how the parents will guide and counsel the child after such a confrontation will determine if the child will like his culture or hate it.
Parents have the obligation to spell out positive aspects of various cultures exposed to the child, since this will help the child to appreciate the different cultures around. If friends, because of some cultural identity, ridicule a child, parents have the obligation to educate the child the importance of embracing various cultural aspects the child is exposed to. The child has to learn to accept some negative remarks about his culture and with parents help; the child may decide to adopt some different culture. If parents decide for the child though, the child may resist such attempts to introduce some new culture but when the child decides what to do, the cultural transformation will go on successfully.
Classmates play a big role in helping a child from a different culture to assimilate with others in the new culture. They teach the foreigner new ways of working and associating, they tell each other stories about their cultures and in most cases inquire about the culture of the foreigner. This creates a sense of wellbeing and helps one to identify with both cultures easily; this results in one growing healthy as an individual who has grown up within that locality.
Conclusion
People have different ways of welcoming foreigners and assimilating their cultures with theirs. The love one receives, the interest others show to him by teaching him their culture and the closeness with others around determines which culture one Person trumps. This is so because as a child, one plays a lot and will not like to be asked by other children why he eats funny foods or wears certain clothes but if well assimilated to others’ culture, the child will grow healthy and will appreciate all cultures. Parents therefore should let the child determine what to do, what culture to embrace and which one to trump since this will brighten the spirits of this young one.