With the current state of the world and the brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer, and the riots in the US, I have been rattled for the past week. When I have a moment to slow down, which isn't often raising a "never stops moving" toddler, I feel anxious and unsettled. I can't help my mind from wondering back to the silenced voices of people of colour. I can't help but feel guilt for not doing enough, for not being educated enough and truthfully for being so blind to what they face on a day to day basis. This week I have done more research on this topic then ever before. One thing that I have struggled with is this question; do you talk to your children about racism?
My gut instinct is yes of course I should talk to Mckenna about this topic! However if I am being truthful and transparent, there is a part of me that wants to protect her innocence. I had a few conversations with friends this week regarding this topic. There is a general consensus that yes we should be discussing this with our kids, but there is a hesitation as most of our children do not see colour. Are we making a mistake by pointing out these differences?
I don't have the answers.
Although I struggle with the idea of having this conversation with my 2 year old daughter, I have to go with my gut and with the many articles I have read stating that it's never too early to start having these conversions with your children. If we are to raise children that are anti-racist we have to teach them what racism is,and how our differences are what make this world a beautiful place. I want to provide some resources that I hope you will find helpful. I have already ordered a few of these books off Amazon and I've included the links below as well.
Articles to read:
New York Times
Parenting . com
Tollerance . org (PDF) https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/beyond_golden_rule.pdf
Parenting Books:
Children's Books:
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