Our children will inherit a far more diverse and interconnected world than the one we live in today. As parents, we are responsible for equipping our children with the traits and skills required to succeed in such a globalized world. Raising global citizens is not only for families with big travel budgets. Here are 9 ways to raise your children to be globally-minded from the comfort of your own home.

1. GLOBALLY-
MINDED
CHILDREN
AT HOME
WAYS TO RAISE9

2. As infants, our world is our house.
Image © Images Money | flickr

3. As children, our world grows to include
our neighborhood and our school.
Image © Images Money | flickr

4. But as adults, what are the
limits of our world?
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5. For many of us, stories and events from far off places
don’t seem to have much to do with us, as if they are
taking place in another world entirely.
Image © NS Newsflash | flickr

6. But as our world becomes
increasingly connected
economically, environmentally,
technologically, and politically,
faraway events are starting to hit
closer to home.
Image © geographyalltheway.com | flickr

7. We need to become more than a
member of our community or a resident
of our country. There is an increasing
need for global citizens.

8. But here’s the thing:
global citizenship
starts at home.
Image © Images Money | flickr

9. Fostering global-mindedness in our children
will allow them to collaborate, compete, and
contribute to our collective future.

10. Image © sw77 | flickr
But how do we instill this mystical force
in our children from the confines our
homes and communities?

11. #1
Teach them about their own heritage.

12. A curiosity about other cultures is best
rooted in a strong knowledge of one’s
own cultural background.
Image © J. Nathan Matias | flickr

13. Using pictures, stories, and souvenirs,
introduce your children to the country
and the culture that you (or their
grandparents, or some other distant
ancestor) grew up in.
Image © Micah Baldwin | Flickr

14. Pass down family traditions,
such as recipes and holiday rituals.
Image © Carrie Stephens | flickr

15. Expose your children to another culture and
share its significance through your own
family’s experiences. This is the first step to
cultural curiosity and sensitivity.
Image © Wagner T. Cassamiro | flickr

16. #2
Read books from around the world.

17. Introduce your children to other
cultures by choosing books that
feature diverse and
unfamiliar settings
and characters.
Image © Neeta Lind | Flickr

18. Travel the continents from the
comfort of your own couch with
stories from around the world.

19. Discover what it
means to grow up in
a small Kenyan
village, where you
wake to roosters, not
alarm clocks.

20. Explore the Andes
from Cusco to Lake
Titicaca, meeting
numerous Peruvian
children along
the way.

21. Multi-cultural books are available in
abundance. Look on Amazon, or check
out this recommended reading list!

22. Select a new country or continent and
supplement the reading with contextual
materials, including maps, flags, and postcards.
Image © malouette | flickr

23. #3
Eat foreign foods.

24. Engage your children’s senses with
a weekly foreign food night.

25. Dine out at local restaurants that
serve diverse cuisine.
Image © Alpha | flickr

26. Or, stay in and cook your own multi-
cultural meal! Make it fun by eating
it traditionally, whether that be
with chopsticks or bare hands!
Image © Xiaojun Deng | flickr

27. Got picky eaters? Get creative! On your Japanese
food night, let your kids make candy sushi with
gummy candies rather than raw fish.
Image © Jim Reynolds | flickr

28. Prepare some fun facts about
the country of origin to share and
discuss during the meal to leave
a lasting impression.

29. #4
Have a foreign film night.

30. Get the popcorn
ready, but instead of
turning on Frozen for
the umpteenth time,
seek out child-
friendly films with
global themes.
Image © Jessica Diamond | flickr

31. Try Ponyo, an all-
ages, Japanese
take on The Little
Mermaid. It’s got
all of the magic
and wonder, but
without all of the
romantic fixation.

32. Follow the
journey of a
young boy in
India whose
parents send him
off to boarding
school in Like
Stars on Earth.

33. The internet is a treasure trove of
recommendations for foreign films,
many of which, not surprisingly, have
English-dubbed versions or subtitles.

34. #5
Foster multi-cultural friendships.

35. One of the best ways for your child to
understand the value of ethnic and
cultural diversity is to make friends
with children from other backgrounds.

36. This is likely to happen naturally depending on
where you live, but it’s worth monitoring.

37. Seek out other activities like
community-sponsored
cultural events and clubs
where your kids can meet
children with a similar global
curiosity.
Image © San Jose Library | flickr

38. Encourage your children to be out-
going, curious, and inclusive when it
comes to make new friends.

39. #6
Find an international pen pal.

40. If your community is fairly
homogenous, or you want to
give your children an
additional connection to
another world, seek out an
international pen pal.
Image © Sarah Klockars-Clauser | flickr

41. Services like International Pen Friends will match children as
young as 8 with their peers from around the world to
exchange good old-fashioned letters.
Image © Dvortygirl | flickr

42. This exchange will give your children a chance to
share their own culture and learn first-hand about
daily life in different parts of the world. Not to
mention how much kids love receiving mail,
right?
Image © slgkgc | flickr

43. #7
Celebrate foreign holidays.

44. Teach your children about new cultures,
religions, and customs by celebrating
major holidays from around the world!

45. Image © iqremix | flickr
Decorate for
Chinese New
Year, watch
videos of the
parades and
celebrations from
around China, and
give them their
weekly allowance
in the traditional
red envelopes!

46. Pretend you’re in India during Diwali
by making your own Rangoli designs. Instead of
using the traditional colored rice or flour, grab some colored
sand, glue, and construction paper from the craft store so you
can hang the finished designs year-round!
Image © Subharnab Majumdar | flickr

47. Give your usual holidays a global
twist. Hang ornaments from
around the world on your
Christmas tree, and incorporate
traditions from other cultures into
your celebration.
Image © Alan Cleaver | flickr

48. Your children will be having so much fun
celebrating holidays from around the world
they won’t even realize they’re learning to
be more worldly and tolerant.

49. #8
Host an exchange student.

50. This is a big commitment, but there’s no better way to
give your children an opportunity to learn about and
connect with another culture from their own home.
Image © AFS-USA Intercultural Program | flickr

51. Hosting an exchange student gives your kids
a chance to practice interacting with and
understanding someone from another
culture, including their unique values,
behaviors, and attitudes.
Image © AFS-USA Intercultural Program | flickr

52. This experience will help your children develop confidence
when it comes to socializing and working with diverse friends
and colleagues in the future.
Image ©DFID | flickr

53. Global understanding is strongest when its
personal. Hosting an exchange student will give
your children a lifelong link to another culture,
and potentially a new best friend.

54. #9
Teach them a new language.

55. “The more languages they can speak,
the more windows to the world we
are giving to our children.”
-Stephanie Meade, InCultureParent

56. Learning a new language will open a
number of doors to your children,
including countless cognitive and
career benefits. Not to mention the
ability to communicate with an
entire new population of people.
Image © Pratham Books | flickr

57. Learning a language is a lifelong process, so starting
as early as possible is ideal. Don’t wait until high
school to expose your children to a new language.

58. Make sure your
children engage
with the language
daily, even if it’s
through small
efforts like labeling
objects around
your home.
Image © jampaper.com

59. If you and your spouse don’t speak a second language to
pass on to your kids, seek out resources at your local
library, find a tutor, or invest in language-learning software.

60. Raising your children to be globally-minded is realistic for any
family, in any city, on any budget. No matter which steps you
take to raise your children as global citizens, make it fun,
frequent, and family-oriented.

61. Read to invest in your children’s foreign language
education? Get them started with KidSpeak™!