Explaining racism and sexism to 3.5 year old?

[Anonymous]

Even if he is half-Indian, but white passing, please don’t claim victimhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure, right after that you can explain the abortion debate and the bicameral legistlative structure to the child

BTDT.

Who should get to decide what happens with your body?
Me!
Ok, who should help you make decisions?
Mommy and Daddy!
What about the doctor?
Ok, her too.
Anyone else?
Grandma?

Ok, who gets to touch your body?
Me!
Anyone else?
Who I say!
ok, any other people?
When I have medcines... (Plenty of discussions about kids not getting to say no to vaccines just because they hurt, because they are helpful long term)

What can you do?
Everything!
What are not allowed to do?
Things that hurt... (physically, feelings, self and others)
Does it matter what anyone else says about boys do or girls do?
No!
Do you have to do something just because boys do or girls do?
No!

How are we different?
(Looking for language, skin color, gender, visible disability, age, etc and prompting to get at least 2 each time, if it's the same two as last time, prompting for a third)
Is that good or bad?
Yes!
Good or bad?
Good!
How is it good?
(Looking for different likes/dislikes, different things to learn from each other, different things make us unique, differences are fun, differences make us not boring and the same, etc)

Legislative structure and other government organizations are too difficult. Beginning to understand the foundations for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious arguments, and "the abortion debate" are much more accessible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were reading “Mae Among The Stars” (book about astronaut Mae Jemison”) and DS asked why her teacher told her she couldn’t be as astronaut. I said something like “because she was a girl and Black” and that it was a wrong thing for her teacher to say. DS said, “Luckily since I’m a boy with white skin, I can be an astronaut”.

Well that was the wrong takeaway! Plus he isn’t actually White (half Indian).

Can anyone point me to good books on anti-racism and explaining racism? TIA

I mean he is 3.5 so that's actually pretty good reasoning based on what he understood.

Next time just say because the teacher didn't know, let's see if she finds out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if he is half-Indian, but white passing, please don’t claim victimhood

She's not claiming "victimhood," she's just telling us this detail to further accentuate how her son totally doesn't understand race, skin color, ethnicity, etc. And also, there are still people in this country who see a half-Indian person as 'suspect' (perhaps not now, but when they get older) so that's an important point.