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A Twitter thread by Adam Podowitz-Thomas Ukraine flag emoji, @AdamPodTho on 15 March 2022 containing text.
Text:
Before anyone goes about defending any of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws, let me tell you a quick story about my daughter. My daughter attended a local, reasonable daycare. Nothing special, nothing wrong, just normal.
All of the literature that had families included a Mommy, a Daddy, and a Baby. That was just her normal from school. We read a variety of books at home, including a variety of family structures, but the heteronormative model was what she saw most often and what was reinforced.
When she was 3 or so, she took up the habit of describing any three objects, particularly if one was smaller, as ‘Mommy, Daddy, Baby’. Stephen and I were slightly concerned that she didn’t understand how diverse families can look…
so we took it upon ourselves to reinforce same-sex couple families (particularly with two men, as that’s our family structure) in books. One night, when reading the classic ‘And Tango Makes Three’, she pointed to the three penguins on the cover and said ‘Mommy, Daddy, Baby’.
We pointed at the same penguins and said ‘Daddy, Papa, Baby’. She repeated ‘Mommy, Daddy, Baby’. She turns to us and looks, with the biggest, widest eyes I have ever seen, turn back to the penguins and say, questioning 'Daddy, Papa, Edie?’
We hugged her, said yes, and then proceeded to read the story. It became a favorite for several weeks. For months afterward, she referred to herself as Tango. She had never seen her family represented in a book at school.
She had never actually seen her lived experience represented in literature that the kids read. And mind you, this book just is about two male penguins that raise a baby together. Nothing special - just a different looking family. But it was Edie’s first time.
And I guarantee you that, if our daughter, being raised by two men, hadn’t been exposed to this, a vast majority of the kids in her class hadn’t either. And still probably haven’t. And some of those kids are going to grow up gay. Or have gay siblings. Or relatives. Or friends.
Reading kids literature that includes a variety of people and family structures is so important. It can be the first time a kid sees themselves in the heroes of a book. It can be the first time a kid sees their families represented.
It’s not our way of converting kids - I have no way of knowing my kids orientation at this age - nor is it age-inappropriate. It’s using a medium that kids understand to ensure that they feel like they belong.
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