RAISING MY KIDS TO BE PROUD ARMENIANS AND WHY ITS IMPORTANT

In all honesty, I think this is by far the most important blog I will ever have to write. Come to think of it, I should’ve started my first blog with this, but I digress. I am a very proud Armenian and I was always taught the importance of reading, writing and speaking Armenian and how it is so crucial to uphold the traditions and the culture to the highest standard. I always knew it was important, but in the light of recent events with the war in Artsakh, I now realize just how important it really is. For those of you who don’t know, Armenians lived through yet another genocide in 2020. Yes, you read that correctly, a genocide. What was known as ours for centuries has been taken away with bloodshed and murder by Azerbaijan with the help of Turkey and hired terrorists mercenaries. Yes, you also read that correctly, terrorists. Throughout the 40+ days of our innocent soldiers and civilians being slaughtered and recorded and posted on social media, the entire world stood silent. When I say silent, I mean we did not even get decent, truthful news coverage on the matter. Long story short, I, as well as every Armenian in the world, came to the realization that we stand united but alone. These events that unfolded were extremely eye opening for me personally. 

I realize now more than ever when my grandmother would tell me “SPEAK ARMENIAN” as a kid in the house was more than just her disciplining me. It was her way of telling me to never forget where I come from and who I am. It was her way of telling me how important it is to be proud of my culture and cherish it because it can easily be taken away. 

Raising my kids to be proud Armenians is not only one of the most important things in the world for me, but its the ONLY way to raise them.

Now you may ask yourself; How does an Armenian millennial who was born and raised in Los Angeles raise his kids to be “Proud Armenians”? Here are 5 basic ways in which I choose to raise my children:

1.) Speaking Armenian in the house: People do not realize the importance of using your native tongue and how it can shape your kids for the future.

2.) Upholding and teaching the child the importance of your basic Armenian traditions such as attending an Armenian wedding (pre covid), having easter dinner, learning to pray in Armenian, respecting the elders around them and everything that goes into being Armenian.

3.) Having them attend a private Armenian school. Now, I realize that not everyone is financially capable of this and there is absolutely nothing wrong with sending their kids to public schools, I went to a public High School, but if you are sending your kids to public schools, see if the school offers private Armenian classes after hours ( I realize it may be different with covid now, but there are many ways to get this done.) Personally, sending my kids to a private Armenian school is non-negotiable.

4.) Teaching the Armenian alphabet to your toddler.

5.) Bringing your kids to family functions: Kids are sponges, they absorb everything around them, who better to absorb from than your own family?

I truly do not know what the future holds for my Armenia and my people. We can only hope for the best and be so optimistic and positive about our future that we speak it into existence. What I do know is that I will be doing my absolute best as a parent to raise my kids to be the best possible human beings. I choose to raise my children to be so good at what they do that they cannot be ignored. I believe being in touch with my heritage and passing that on, is an extremely important part of that. To my people, the future is not clear for us. The one thing that is clear is we have to stay untied. After all, all we have is each other. One love!