| july/august 2020 www.nolafamily.com
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How to open the dialog, keep it going, and make it age appropriate
Spring 2020 was all about adapting to COVID-19 constraints and teaching our children to safely quarantine, remotely learn, and then alleviating their loneliness and boredom. We answered their questions about public safety and did our best to keep them - and ourselves - emotionally well. As national and international protests and outrage over the killings of George Floyd﹘and others﹘by law enforcement officers flood our televisions and social media, summer 2020 is about communal introspection and reevaluation, and a new conversation about race and racism. And for parents, particularly non-black parents, if you already haven’t, this is the time to open﹘and keep open﹘the dialog with our children about race, equity, inequality, and social justice. Jenni Evans, Program Manager and Parent Educator at The Parenting Center of New Orleans Children’s Hospital, gives us her input on the subject and how she speaks to parents who want to start the conversation. “Feeling anxious is okay,” in bringing up the topic (as a parent), says Jenni, “But it’s important that we start the conversation without creating anxiety, and instead create curiosity. Remember, this is not a moment in time; it’s a topic that’s been here for 400 years. We don’t want to stoke the fear that children may be feeling, but to invoke growth. Do this in steps.”
