How Sea My Culture helped me see my son

Excitement was in the air! The first game fair event was about a week away! This was the first time we were actually going to share our game with others, play it with others! Xinyi, Amber, Kayezad and myself met to do a rehearsal, and went over the proceedings of the day. Part of the rehearsal involved actually playing the game.

All four of us were playing. Xinyi was moderating. We were having fun. 

It was my son, Kayezad's turn. He got a Cultural Connections card - the card explained the meaning of sizeism and asked if he had ever experienced sizeism. I was shocked and brought to tears by what he shared. Before I talk about that, I want to share that Kayezad is way smaller/shorter compared to most kids in his grade. Part of it is of course genetics, but part of it is because he is a whole year younger than a lot of kids in his grade. He shared that the kids at school have often made fun of him for being smaller and shorter than other kids. There is more--- he shared that he was also beaten up several times for his size. I was very, very sad to hear that. I was surprised that he had never shared it with me. He said he did not want to make a big deal out of it or bring any attention to it. However, he felt comfortable sharing it in the context of this game -- that's what made me feel a bit better. I love how our game provides that platform for kids to talk about things that they wouldn't typically.

By Mazneen Havewala

August 2022