You push your wide-eyed toddler in the shopping cart and she points at everything and everyone she sees, asking endless questions. That inquisitiveness is great, but how do you handle the moment when your curious critter innocently exclaims, "Mommy, look! That lady is brown. Why is that lady brown?"

Instead of shushing her or brushing off her question, why not seize the moment in aisle five to teach your child about diversity? Make a simple, positive statement about the person next to you to show your tot that everybody’s different and that’s a wonderful thing: “Yes, her skin is a different color than yours or mine. Her hair looks pretty too!” Then point out similarities (“That lady is also buying apples! And she’s wearing sneakers just like you are”) so your sweetie picks up the message that even though people look different, they’re the same in many ways. Since your mini-me often mimics you, she has a better chance of feeling comfortable around all sorts of people if you’re relaxed about it, too.

But that’s just the first step toward raising a tolerant tot. As your little sponge starts to soak up the world around her, here are more tactics for teaching tolerance of other cultures, physical differences, and more.

Get a head start. Research shows that babies stare significantly longer at other faces (a sure sign they are processing information) if they are different from their own skin color. So get a conversation going with your need-to-know toddler about everything that’s different about people: eye and hair color, shape and size, hometowns, languages, abilities, and race.

Continue the conversation. If your first discussion does take place at the post office or the grocery store, follow it up at home. Your own home may be the best spot to chat about why people have different traits. There you’ll have the time to ask your own questions and get your toddler’s brain wheels turning: "Do you know why some people, like Dora, speak Spanish? It's because they come from a different country than we do."

Break out the family tree. Talking to your child about your family heritage will help her feel proud of who she is and help her understand that each family has a unique history. Starting with her grandparents' background is a great way to bring up how other families have stories all their own: “A lot of your classmates celebrate New Year’s Day only on January first, but since Grandpa is from China, we get to celebrate in February too!”

Boost empathy. Teaching tolerance won’t go very far if your toddler’s not aware of other people’s feelings (even though it’ll be years before she really considers them important). So help your child put herself in another person’s place. For example, if you know one of her fellow preschoolers is in a wheelchair, talk about it ahead of time. Ask her, “Can you imagine if you couldn’t hop like a bunny or run after a ball? That’s why we have to be patient when we play with Luke.”

Expand her exposure. Choose books, toys, games, and shows that show diverse characters in a positive light so your little learner becomes familiar with a variety of cultures. The more types of people she sees, whether onscreen or in real life, the more your toddler will discover the similarities she shares with others and the differences that make people special. Setting up a positive, open, and self-inclusive foundation now will pay off later, when your tot grows into a compassionate, tolerant grown-up.