Single parent of a biracial child?

Question

There are so many questions I could ask about this 1 topic.......
How do you plan to educate your child about his/her heritage of the absent parent?
How do you implement that into daily life; or do you?

Need some ideas.

Thank you for your answers everyone; I appreciate them all.

My daughter is part Korean and I've been given a wealth of information by friends with regards to Korean culture. However, implementing what is learned into teaching her is a bit difficult, simply because first of all, she can't learn (from me) what I don't know myself, so everything that I study and learn of the culture, including the language and etc, is a bit hard to teach especially when I don't spend a lot of time or have a lot of time to study.

But, I guess I'll just approach this little-by-little.

Thanx again everyone!

Answer 1

My vote is to embrace all of the child's cultures.

I have a friend who is half Spanish and half Mexican. She married an Iranian man. So, her children are taking Spanish language classes in school, and on Saturdays, they all go to Farsi class at the local community college. They spent the Christmas break in Iran (first time for my friend to meet her in-laws of 20 years!), and her daughters helped her translate, as they have absorbed Farsi faster than she has. In March, they celebrated the Iranian New Year...the eldest daughter was privileged to participate in the tambourine dance in the celebration put on by the City of San Francisco. Then in April, they celebrated Easter, complete with Catholic mass and bunny rabbits.

It might be difficult if you are not familiar with the other culture, but my guess is that the grandparents would be more than happy to help. Additionally, there are all kinds of organizations that can help you learn about it yourself, and to teach your child. All parents need a good support network, and single parents often need even more than those of us who are married...This could be a great way for you to expand your network, and for you and your child to learn along the way. My guess is that you'll find that most people are thrilled to help out, if it means that they get to share part of their world.

If you live in a multi-cultural location, I also recommend taking your child to learn about cultures that are not part of their heritage. The more we can learn about the other people we share the planet with, the better off we will all be.

Answer 2

I to have a biracial child with a absent father, I am white very white and I 'm sure my son will miss out on his black heritage, I dont know what it's like to be black in america so I dont think I can effectively teach a culture that I dont understand myself

Answer 3

I am the caucasian single mother of a beautiful 7 year old girl. She is half African-American. We have been blessed in that her biological granparents on her father's side are involved in her life. I have done everything in my power to make sure she knows as much as possible about BOTH of her cultures! The good, the bad, AND the ugly. Jen

Answer 4

You can read stories that have characters who have a similar background. Talk to your child about differences and similarites between cultures and people of different countries, etc. Take your child to events that celebrate that culture, eat foods from that culture, etc. There are many things that you can try, but the number one thing to teach your child is that they should respect all cultures and that he/she is very special and should be proud of who they are.