It’s never too soon to talk to your child about race and racism in the world.
Parents usually have a good idea about how to teach children about kindness, empathy, and generosity, but race tends to be a harder discussion among families, particularly white families. Often, adults are the ones who make this conversation harder than it has to be because children are very open and talk comfortablyand curiously about what they see and experience. Children start to notice faces as infants, and can begin to see differences in skin color before the age of 1. This is important to know because parents’ own biases and comments begin to influence their children much earlier than many consider.
Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when having conversations about race with your child:
- Address your own discomfort with talking about race – especially if you have never experienced it first hand before.
- Diversify your child’s books and other media they are exposed to on a daily basis.
- Listen to your kids first, and then talk. Redirect when needed, for example identifying a child by their name rather than their skin color.
- Explore beyond your community. Attend cultural events and expose children to diverse backgrounds.
- Intervent and disrupt the status quo. This can mean attending a protest, volunteering, donating, or simply learning more about your own biases.