Why we don't need to teach acceptance to children ...

Now, before I get lots of angry messages, comments and tweets about how it's important for children to be accepting, I'm going to stop you right there. How about you read all the way through this piece before forming an angry lynch mob?

Children don't need to be taught acceptance. Children are already pretty much accepting of everyone. It's their nature. Children are trusting and accepting of just about everyone they meet. They don't need us to teach them about acceptance or how to be accepting. They get it.

It's us. It's all of us. It's the adults who need to be taught.

My son has Autism. Not very severe. If you met him, you might not realise right away. His best friend has Down Syndrome. They accept each other. No questions asked. They both go to a mainstream school. They are in a mainstream class. They are accepted by their friends at school. They are accepted by other students who are not necessarily in their immediate circle.

These children are perfectly accepting. This isn't to say that they don't notice differences. They do. They comment on them. It's what's kids do. They have no filter. All parents would have had that awkward moment when they wanted the ground to open up because their child has said something like, "Why is that man so fat?" or "Gee, that lady's black!" It's not because they are being mean or discriminatory. It's because they are curious about the world. It is not because they are intolerant.

It's adults that add the layer of intolerance to their curiosity. It's adults that say the man is fat because he's lazy or doesn't eat right or can't be bothered exercising. It's adults that tell their children they don't associate with people of colour.

And by adults, I mean all adults. Parents, other relatives, family friends, parents of other children, the media, teachers, sports instructors, nannies, babysitters, everyone.

Society allows intolerance to continue and to grow. Every single one of us need to step up and stay that enough is enough. Intolerance will not be accepted.

Homophobia ... gone.

Sexism ... gone.

Racism ... gone.

Disability discrimination ... gone.

Ageism ... gone

Imagine what that society would be like. Don't worry, I'm not going to be doing any John Lennon impersonations. Really, think about it, though. Imagine going for a job and not having to hide your sexuality. Imagine men and women getting the same wage. Imagine not having to put up with racial stereotyping. Imagine not having to worry about re-entering the workforce because your age means you won't even get a look in. Imagine your disability being something you have, rather than something your suffer from.

Currently, yes, education is the answer. Teaching people that it's not OK to discriminate against people because of what they are is a great thing. But imagine not having to do that at all because everyone was accepted and accepting. Imagine them being that way because no-one had taught them that different is bad.

Utopia? Perhaps ... but just imagine!

Is this what we are teaching our children?

I recently posted the following on my Facebook page:

In the end, we must strive for our capacity to love to be the thing for which we are remembered, not our capacity to hate and to hurt.

The very next day I was confronted by the news of a shocking image that was posted to twitter. The picture was that of a young boy holding the head of a decapitated soldier.

Is this what we are teaching our children?

Are we allowing them to continue to hate and despise for the simple reason that this is what we have always done? At what point do we say enough is enough? If we wish for future generations to live in peace then we must take the first step. Not just individually but collectively. Every mother, every father, every citizen must make a conscious decision to not allow our children to grow up with hate in their heart.

We need to pass on uplifting ideals, such as tolerance and acceptance. We need to produce future leaders who have sympathy, empathy and compassion. We need to create a world that is free from the hostility, greed and disrespect that is so pervasive in society right now. So I return my thoughts to those I opened with: Do I show my son my capacity for love or do I teach him that hate is normal and to hurt others is ok?

I would like to think that it is the former, rather than the latter. I hope that my son, who is not much older than the boy which was pictured in the image which disturbed me so greatly, grows up to be a well-rounded, generous, caring citizen of the world. Still, my heart weeps for the children of fathers who proudly display such pictures and who fill their childhood with an unbridled hate which I cannot behin to fathom.

I don't want to shed another tear for another child consumed by their parents hate and I don't want my child to shed a tear for another child in a generations time.

Can someone explain to me why I must? Or why my child must?

Because I do not understand at all.