How to answer question from my 7 year old

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old daughter and I spend a lot of time in the car, as her school is across town. She is a sensitive type, I always keep quarters in my car for her to hand to the homeless we meet at stops along the way. One day she asked me "Mom, how come all of the poor people have dark skin?"
OK - so, how would you answer that?

[Anonymous]

As simply but truthfully as possible. Answers may vary based on your beliefs.

[Anonymous]

Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

[Anonymous]

I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere.

This AND since my first grader learned about discrimination through the stories of MLK and Rosa Parks,
I might talk about the legacy of that discrimination and how it has affected the lives of African Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

You can't tell her that her perception is wrong. That will shame her.

You can tell her there are poor people of other skin colors elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

You can't tell her that her perception is wrong. That will shame her.

You can tell her there are poor people of other skin colors elsewhere.

You would just rather let your child think the only poor people in this area are black or brown? There is a middle ground on this one. OP, validate what she sees, and then discuss poor people OF ALL COLORS everywhere.

The pp that said "I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere." is spot on. Please don't teach your child that all people of color in this area are poor.

[Anonymous]

Wow. All of the homeless in my area are white but very tanned from living outside. Are you sure she just doesn't mean tanned rather than black?

[Anonymous]

Not clear whether part of the problem is that shes n seeing people of color that do have mOney . If so, maybe make an effort to shop some more diverse places, like in prince George's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not clear whether part of the problem is that shes n seeing people of color that do have mOney . If so, maybe make an effort to shop some more diverse places, like in prince George's.

This has to be a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

You can't tell her that her perception is wrong. That will shame her.

You can tell her there are poor people of other skin colors elsewhere.

You would just rather let your child think the only poor people in this area are black or brown? There is a middle ground on this one. OP, validate what she sees, and then discuss poor people OF ALL COLORS everywhere.

The pp that said "I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere." is spot on. Please don't teach your child that all people of color in this area are poor.

If all the poor people she sees are black and brown, then that's her reality. At some point, she will realize that's not the case everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

You would tell her that they are all related? You know this how? This has to be a joke post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere.

This AND since my first grader learned about discrimination through the stories of MLK and Rosa Parks,
I might talk about the legacy of that discrimination and how it has affected the lives of African Americans.

OP here. I did attempt to answer the question when she asked. I tried to describe racism and its impacts. As well as disparities in education and economic opportunity. I am not sure if any of it really made sense to a 7 year old. She has many friends with dark complexions as her school is very diverse. I think it is more that all of the panhandlers we see have the same complexion. I wish there was an age-appropriate book or something that someone could recommend.

[Anonymous]

Simple to me, not all poor people are dark. I'm more inclined to answer with a question rather than an answer though. How about asking her why she thinks that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell her that all the poor people actually don't have black skin. About half of the panhandlers I see are white.
You could say, "All the poor people don't have black skin. There are people with all sorts of skin that have all different amounts of money. Maybe the poor here are in the same families, and sometimes families have similar skin tone colors."

You can't tell her that her perception is wrong. That will shame her.

You can tell her there are poor people of other skin colors elsewhere.

You would just rather let your child think the only poor people in this area are black or brown? There is a middle ground on this one. OP, validate what she sees, and then discuss poor people OF ALL COLORS everywhere.

The pp that said "I would answer that all the poor people she has seen may have dark skin, but that poor people with all colors of skin are sadly everywhere." is spot on. Please don't teach your child that all people of color in this area are poor.

If all the poor people she sees are black and brown, then that's her reality. At some point, she will realize that's not the case everywhere.

So you would allow your child to believe that only people of color are poor? Wow.