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Talking to Your Kids About Race
We asked the experts how to initiate important conversations with children of every age.
D
uring this time of racial unrest, parents are giving serious thought to how they should respond to kids’ questions—or whether or not to discuss topics such as race, inequality and white privilege at all. We consulted with a variety of experts who all agreed that parents shouldn’t shy away from discussing race. All confirmed that as parents, the behaviors we model for our children will have the biggest impact on our kids and the type of people they will become. When discussing race, the goal isn’t to tell children to ignore the differences they see.
SUMMER 2020 | NEW JERSEY FAMILY
By Ronnie Koenig “In general, a goal for white parents should be to raise a child in a racially-conscious way,” says Devin English, PhD, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health. “That is, noticing and celebrating racial diversity, while educating on racial injustice in the US and how children can be a part of working against that injustice.” For non-Black parents, teaching kids to notice, understand, respect and appreciate differences is the best approach. “A racially-conscious approach is in direct contrast to colorblind parenting,” he says. “That is, messages communicating that children should not see race, or that race does not matter. It does matter. This
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