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What we do and say and feel affects other people. Children who learn to appreciate diversity when they are toddlers are more likely to become tolerant teenagers. They will be kinder to their gay peers, and will be less likely to feel shame if they themselves turn out to be gay. At least a few of the wonderful children who came to my day care center will probably one day realize that they are gay. I don't want homophobia to be the cause of death for even one of my precious toddlers. The more we can do now to erase homophobia, the safer all our children will be in the future.Critics who feel that children are too young to learn about homosexuality need to realize that children begin to learn about the world around them from the day they are born. Homosexuals are simply part of the human landscape. If three-year-old Sarah is walking in the park with her mother and father when she notices two men walking hand-in-hand, she is "learning about" homosexuality, even though she cannot define the word. Her parents have a perfect opportunity at this time to answer Sarah's questions by simply stating that when some people grow up they fall in love with another person. Some people fall in love with someone of the opposite sex and some people fall in love with someone of the same sex, but what is important is the love they feel for each other.Sarah has just "learned" to appreciate diversity, and in my opinion we are never too young for that. |
Hi and welcome to my website. My name is Barbara Edmonds and I live in the United States, in Eugene, Oregon. I was born in 1948 and am the mother of a grown daughter. I taught in both public and private elementary schools and day care centers in both California and Oregon before opening Barby's House, my own home-based child care center for babies and toddlers. Barby's House was open from 1985 to 1998, and during that time I cared
for many children, including several from gay households. I found myself
increasingly irritated that it was so hard to find gay-friendly preschool
literature, books which depicted families with two moms or two dads. So
I wrote my own book, hired a local illustrator and printer, and the result
is When Grown-Ups Fall in Love. Next I wrote
Mama Eat Ant, Yuck! which tells the story about
a funny incident in the life of a lesbian couple and their children. I
believe our best hope for survival on this tiny planet is for adults to
learn to see the world through the eyes of children.
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