CHILDRENS PROBLEM WITH TWO CULTURES

Problems faced by children growing up with two cultures

Maninderjit Singh
College Communications 2 (COMM 171-001)
Professor Xiaoqing Mao
December 02, 2016

CHILDRENS PROBLEM WITH TWO CULTURES

Am I Canadian or Korean or what? This is one of the major problem faced by the children
who are growing up with two different cultures. But why this problem occurs in children? The
question may be answered with three different reasons: they are confused about their identity,
forced to follow their religious customs to fulfill the expectations of their parents and sometimes
discrimination by the others.
To begin with, the main obstacle faced by the children is about their identity. They are
totally confused whether to behave what their parents want them to or what their friends want
them to. They follow different customs and traditions while they are at home and at school.
According to Sun-Kyung Yi (1992) in her writing, An Immigrants Split Personality she waved
hellos and goodbyes to her teachers, but bowed to her parents friends visiting her home (par.3).
For others (adults) it is quite easy, but it is tough for the children who are at the learning stage, I
discovered that its very difficult to be both at any given time or place. (Sun-Kyung, 1992,
par.1). If little one follow new culture at home then they may get abused by their parents, and if
they follow the back-home tradition at school they may get persecuted from others. Hence, living
in two different cultures is difficult for them.
Children face another difficulty where they are forced to follow their religious customs and
traditions to fulfill the expectations of their parents. They are taught various things in their backhome religion such as how to behave with the elders, what to eat and many more like that despite
of their own interest and willingness. Learning two different religious beliefs often confused
children a lot and they do not understand which one is right, and which one is wrong. Most of the
times, it is seen that preference is given to the home religion by the parents, despite whatever
suits to their children, we may live in America but we are Filipinos. Dont forget that.
(Growing up Biculturally, 2008; Alda Oshin). Apart from that, parents would be happy if their

CHILDRENS PROBLEM WITH TWO CULTURES

children work and behave as they want, my parents were ecstatic at the thought of their
daughter finally finding her roots to speak my native tongue. (Sun-Kyung, 1992, par.11).
Moreover, if these minors discuss the issue with their mother and father then despite of solving
the problem their parents reply them (children) to adjust with the situation.
Furthermore, children feel another serious problem of discrimination. It impacts negatively
on individuals from diverse backgrounds. Childrens sense of difference and vulnerability
increases if their culture is devalued. It creates undue stress and social disadvantage. For
example, in some religions, male is considered more superior than female. The latter has no right
to speak in front of the former. According to the article, An Immigrants Split Personality by
Sun-Kyung Yi (1992), when she gets the job at Korean company, she is considered inferior to
male counterparts because in Korean culture women cant speak up or disagree with men
(par.14). Even at school children are discriminated as they do not keep up in class due to
language barrier. Hence, they are kept in lower grade although they are capable in higher grade.
Young children face discrimination at the personal level from staff or peers at school. This
primarily takes the form of critical comments or name-calling about students accent,
appearance, or use of home language. (How young children face Discrimination at school,
2015; Jennifer keys).
In a conclusion, it can be said that there are a lot of obstacles faced by the children who
grow up with two different cultures. But, one should try to overcome this hurdle, and learn the
positive things from both the cultures so that a better world can be made.

CHILDRENS PROBLEM WITH TWO CULTURES

References

Oshkins, A. (2008). Growing up Biculturally.

https://www.booksie.com/posting/alda-oshin/growing-up-biculturally-54706
Kids matter, commonwealth of Australia (2012-13). Cultural diversity and childrens wellbeing.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KMP C1 CDCW
New America, (2015). How young children face discrimination at school
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/early-discrimination/
Nez, C. (2014). Global Citizen.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-7-biggest-challenges-facing-refugees-and-immig/
Yi, S. (1992). An Immigrants Split Personality. In Nelson Education Ltd., The Maple Collection
(pp. 31-33). Toronto: Nelson Education.