If you wish to raise a young feminist, best to start right away! Here are some great ways to raise young feminists!
1. Books and stories
Seek out books and stories that include girls and women. Many books for children don’t include any female characters or pronouns at all. If you have books that you love, that have no female characters, just change the pronouns. Make them about girls.
2. How you talk to your children
Try using female pronouns when describing animals, toys, stuffed animals, or other inanimate objects with children.
3. Children and consent
Focus on consent with children and make sure that you (and particularly adults who are not primary caretakers) ask before touching your children.
4. Be conscious and creative
Every family has its own culture, traditions and routines. Think about your own ways to incorporate feminism into your home in ways that work for you and your family. This will make the message more relevant for your children.
5. Teach children about inspiring men AND women
When sharing inspirational stories with children, make sure they include both men and women. This allows children to have role models from both genders.
[Read Related: Four Ways to Raise a Confident Girl Child in Today’s World]
One of the most important ways to raise young feminists is to pick the right books for your children. Author Libby Babbott-Klein and illustrator Jessica Walker share some of the most famous feminists of our times in their new collaboration Baby Feminists (Viking; October 2, 2018).
In this book toddlers and babies can lift the flap to see what Gloria Steinem, Michelle Obama, Malala and other change-making women might have looked like as babies, offering parents a way to introduce kids to their favorite feminists and the ideas they fought for.
With simple language and colorful pictures, the book shares the message that whether you’re a boy or girl, black or white, gay or straight, anyone can grow up to make the world a better place for all genders.
You can find out more about the book here.
