Jain – gender affirmation 

If a child were to share with you that they want to use a different name or they want to use different pronouns, they may be trying this out or exploring their gender with you.

And I think that’s an incredible privilege because you’ve shown that child that you’re a safe person for them to come to and it’s so important in those moments to affirm that child’s identity and show them that they have someone who will support them and believe them when they say who they are. 

And some of this involves having conversations with families when that child is ready or finding ways to bring families into the conversation so you can work through these situations together so that the child has as safe as possible space to explore who they are and be affirmed in that exploration as well.

Often early childhood educators and even pre-service educators will shy away from gender justice and gender equity work for fear of doing it wrong or for messing up, or because it’s uncomfortable or something like that. 

 But sometimes it’s the simple moments where a child approaches you and maybe uses a different name in dramatic play or tries out something with you in a conversation, and you affirm that identity in a really simple way, like acknowledging the child and smiling or repeating that name back in an affirmative way, that can make a really big difference.  

Those simple moments can be really, really meaningful for children. It’s not always or doesn’t always have to be an overcomplicated or really big action, often just doing something or saying something or jumping in can make a really big difference.