10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race [downloadable]

These tips, developed by EmbraceRace in partnership with MomsRising, are designed to help parents of all backgrounds talk to and guide their children about race early and often by lifting up age-appropriate activities that can be incorporated easily into your daily life.

1 ) Start early.
By 6 months of age babies are noticing racial differences; by age 4, children have begun to show signs of racial bias.

2) Encourage your child.
Encourage your child to ask questions, share observations and experiences, and be respectfully curious about race.

3) Be mindful.
What kids hear from us is less important than what they see us do.

4) Face and know your own bias.
Let your child see you acknowledge and face your own biases.

5) Know and love who you are.
Talk about the histories and experiences of the racial, ethnic, and cultural groups you and your family identify with.

6) Develop racial cultural literacy.
Develop racial cultural literacy by learning about and respecting others.

7) Be honest.
Be honest with your child, in age-appropriate ways, about bigotry and oppression.

8) Tell stories.
“Lift up the freedom fighters “: Tell stories of resistance and resilience.

9) Be active.
Be active – don’t be a “bystander” on race.

10) Plan for a marathon, not a sprint.
It’s okay to say, “I’m not sure” or “Let’s come back to that later, okay?” But then do come back to it.

Excerpted from “10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race” from EmbraceRace, a multiracial community of parents, teachers, experts, and other caring adults who support each other to meet the challenges that race poses to our children, families, and communities and MomsRising, an on-the-ground and online multicultural organization working to build a more family-friendly America.

Read the post online for additional recommendations for implementing each of the tips. You can also download a PDF of these tips, also available in Spanish.

Source: EmbraceRace | 10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race, https://www.embracerace.org/resources/teaching-and-talking-to-kids | EmbraceRace ©2021

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