Reply to White parents: what are you teaching your white preschool age children about racism?

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[quote=Anonymous]This is the OP. I think the range of responses here is interesting, though I guess not surprising.

Maybe I should have stated in the OP that we have lots of diverse/inclusive books, we live in DC in a mostly black neighborhood, she went to a mostly black daycare, and goes to a mostly black preschool. So we’re good on exposure.

I had assumed that was sufficient, but I’ve read, on some of the links/articles mentioned above and some other places as well, that exposure isn’t enough.  We need to be talking to kids, before age 5 or 6, because by that time they’ve already developed opinions about race and “filled in the blanks“ about their observations if no one talks to them about them explicitly. Like, if we teach them that every one is equal, and they see disparity, then they assume the disparity is deserved and will attribute it to the most obvious distinguishing characteristic - race.

Based on what I’ve read, I’m willing to believe that even though it feels to young to say something that we should be talking to her about racism, and I know black families don’t have the luxury of waiting. I’ve already been following several of the IG feeds mentioned above, which echo that message and provide lots of examples of books. And I’ve found a bunch of resources for talking about it with kids older than mine. But I was really hoping for ideas of what to say to my kid. That information seems to be lacking. I see a lot of “say something!” but not what to say.

As it is, I’ve made a few attempts to explain what the signs around our neighborhood mean when she asks. I don’t think I’ve been very successful at getting the point across, though the nice thing is I’m able to see where I can improve based on her responses. Right now she is focused on the man who was killed, which I was using as a reference point. So when we talk about it again I’ll emphasize the history of unfair treatment, which I’ve mentioned as well but that’s not what’s sticking right now. We’ll keep trying. 
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