General Discussion

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

1. I know that when my children were young I had no idea

Fri Jul 8, 2016, 09:46 PM

Jul 2016

how to talk to them about race. We're white, and we lived in a very white city, Overland Park, Kansas. I could go days at a time without seeing a black person. There were literally two or three black kids in the neighborhood elementary school.

I did go with the color blind approach, and in a recent conversation with one of my two sons (they're now grown) he said that he and his friends thought it was totally stupid that we adults pretended that race wasn't out there. Looking back, I should have just spoken openly and casually.

They did get the message that we did not think white people were better, and that we were more than okay with them having friends from outside their own particular race or ethnicity.

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How silence can breed prejudice: Child development prof explains how/why to talk to kids about race [View all] gollygee Jul 2016 OP

I know that when my children were young I had no idea SheilaT Jul 2016 #1

Thanks. elleng Jul 2016 #2

And we are still having conversation with boys at 18 and 21. Talk to kids, age appropriate, always seabeyond Jul 2016 #3

"Race" is a concept developed over 100 years ago. xfundy Jul 2016 #4

Way, way over 100 years gollygee Jul 2016 #5

That makes sense. EllieBC Jul 2016 #6

Yep, just like sex ed gollygee Jul 2016 #7

That's what I thought of too. EllieBC Jul 2016 #8

When my kids were young, we lived in a mixed race neighborhood and Arkansas Granny Jul 2016 #9

My neighborhood and school district were similar growing up gollygee Jul 2016 #10