Inclusion is a big component of our society; we all want to fit into a role or group. We want to be invited to participate, to be included and accepted by others and not left on the sidelines. It doesn’t matter if you are a child or adult, these feelings will exist. Unfortunately, in our society, there can be a lot of hatred. There is too often non-appreciation for another culture, degrading them or segregating them, just because of the way they look.
A child from an adoptive transracial family may experience this more than others. They may experience being left out because they are “different” or asked questions from other children on why they look different than their parents.
But, at the end of the day, all children want one thing: to have friends and have fun. A mother shares her heartwarming story of inclusion for her son on the local playground.
Rowden is a mother of two children. One of her sons, Asher, is a 7-year-old boy adopted from Uganda. They were at the playground playing on the basketball court when a bus from a local elementary school arrived and students from the bus started playing basketball.
Asher was described by Rowden as typically shy, so they were going to just back away. But what happened next is truly inspirational.
Instead of just ignoring Asher, the other children asked and invited him to play. They included him, cheered him on, and gave him many high fives.
Rowden was very grateful to this group of students who were so kind and welcoming to her son. They live in a predominately white community, so race plays a big part in their family life. As Rowden stated in her Facebook post and something I feel is great for all to hear as a reminder:
“there is good in the world! I need reminders of it sometimes!”
