ABOUT "INTERNALIZATION" - Part 5

 There is a beautiful Maori saying that "it takes a village to raise a child". This is so very true when it comes to a child adhering to the norms/traditions of their culture and religion, particularly when it comes to children of migrants. I sometimes see migrant parents who complain that their children have no connection with their culture, or are not following their religion, or have no attachment for their extended families. And yet you see the same parents not taking their children to see the culture/places they have come from, or to spend time with their extended families, for years. Even more extreme are those families who cut themselves off from their ethnic/religious community and sub-culture in the country they have migrated to. When a child has never experienced a culture, why would they feel any affiliation with or love for that culture?

When a child has a close relationship with their parents, they develop one bond with their culture. If they have a close relationship with their grandparents too, that becomes a second bond tying them to their culture. If they become close friends with their cousins and extended family, that becomes a third bond. Thus every relationship they have with people from their parents' culture becomes one more bond. These bonds serve a grounding point and do not let a child stray too far from their culture. That is why it is so important for immigrant parents to make an effort that their children have a close relationship not just with their parents, but also with their extended family.

The end...