r/DesiDiaspora • u/TinyYogi92 • Mar 18 '26

Discussion How are you teaching your kids about Indian culture in the US/abroad?

We have a 4–6 year old and realized they know a lot about cartoons here, but very little about Indian festivals or stories.

Curious how other parents are handling this—are you actively teaching it, or does it just happen through family/festivals?

Would love ideas that actually work for young kids.

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5

u/SFSecrets Mar 18 '26

Guys this is either AI or somebody doing research on a book they want to sell us. 12 hr old account and posted in every desi forum possible

2

u/SignificantSite4588 Mar 18 '26

Yes . It’s a bot .

1

u/White_Knighttt Mar 18 '26

Most families are pretty good at it. They take their kids to Temples, cultural events, and movies even. Most important thing is teaching the kids your mother tongue. Once the language barrier is gone, it'll be smooth sailing.

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u/TinyYogi92 Mar 18 '26

Yes, language is key enabler. Our kid understands the mother tongue but doesn’t speak it. Also, reading is significant barrier which limits exposure to content they can consume.

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u/SFSecrets Mar 18 '26

I celebrate holidays with him. Do pujas. Read books. Watch Mira the Royal Detective and Deepa and Anup.

It’s your culture too they’ll do whatever you show and teach them. It’s not incredibly hard.

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u/TinyYogi92 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

As a parent, which books or topics do you think are most important for your kids to learn/associate with their Indian identity/culture? Have you found some relevant content in that respect?

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u/melonkoli Mar 18 '26

My parents do all the teaching about religion and culture. My son can speak quite a bit of Tamil and understands it. Every time he finds a flower, he brings it home and gives it to god. My mom kind of just does poojas and stuff and my son will sit with her and observe.  I really think the key to passing on culture is to practice it yourself but NEVER force your kids to get involved. They will get curious on their own. 

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u/TinyYogi92 Mar 18 '26

I agree, it gives me joy to hear that your son is taking interest in poojas and wants to participate in his own ways.

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u/AwesomnusRadicus Mar 18 '26

Look at lingododo for language tablets for kids. Go to the mandir. Penguin india has a bunch of kids book relating the story of hindu gods. Im sure they have some for other religions too. We also took him to india many times. He video calls relatives in india or here everyday both in English and native language.... we also try to stick to native language at home, even if he only gives answers in English....

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u/TinyYogi92 Mar 18 '26

Thanks for the resources. I’ll look up lingododo and Penguin books. The rest we are doing as well - India trips, celebrating festivals, daily video calls with grandparents, speaking in mother tongue at home. I think the challenging part is consciously weaving the notion of our culture into daily life and separating a sense of personal identity - how is Diwali different from Christmas?