Reflection Blog #6

Reflection #6:

• As a child, what toys did you play with? Were these toy selections at all influenced by your parents, the media, or friends? Why or why not?

I mostly played with barbies, dolls or spent time outside playing in the dirt outside.  I think they were influenced by my parents a little bit because they just had girls.  My older sister and I are close in age so we just shared toys and she had more dolls than I did.  When I lived in Arkansas, I would always be playing outside with my friend that lived down the street.

• What challenges might LGBT families face? What role might early childhood educators and their programs play in supporting these families?

I think that LGBT families will face the challenge of not fitting the mold of a traditional family.  What I mean by that is the chidden don't have both a mom and a dad.  They have two of one or the other.  Their classmates might ask questions or think it's strange to have two moms or two dads.  It can be rather confusing to the children who don't understand.  As an early childhood educator, a challenge that I have might be the way I word things.  For example, instead of saying "draw a picture of your mom and dad", I would have to say "draw a picture for me of what your family looks like."  Instead of having programs or days like "Muffins with Mom" or "Donuts with Dad", we could come up with something more creative like "Pie with the Parents" or something like that so it's all-inclusive and no one feels awkward about it.