Building Background Knowledge
The Dangers of Colorblind Parenting
Here’s what we know:
1
Kids notice race as early as 3 months old.
Developmental Stages in Children’s Racial Identity & Attitudes (10-minute read)
Our Biased Brains (5-minute read)
Human brains are wired to sort and group things to help us make sense of the world. We are wired to prefer people that are “like” us, or fall into the same “groups” we identify with. Examples are people who share the same hobbies, speak the same language, and look like us in some way (e.g., skin color). (Newheiser & Olson, 2012)
2
Kids are deeply observant and constantly noticing and making meaning of the world around them.
Your Age-to-Age Guide to Talking about Race (5-minute read)
Even if your child isn’t talking about skin color or race, they are likely noticing it. From birth, children are recognizing, processing, and making sense of their world. The ability to express their ideas may develop later than the ideas themselves. They may even have picked up on subtle cues that race is taboo and not something to talk about.
Avoiding talking about race, also known as a color-blind or color-mute approach, or described as racial silence, makes racial bias worse.
The Risks of Color Blindness (3-minute video)
When adults pretend they don’t see skin color or avoid conversations about skin color, they cause greater racial bias in children. Adults’ silence and avoidance speaks volumes to children, especially adults in positions of power (e.g., parents, educators, healthcare workers).
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There are many research-supported ways to preempt or interrupt racial bias, and the preschool and early elementary years are prime times for these interventions.
Five Ways to Reduce Racial Bias in Your Children (5-minute read)
Does this mean that all hope is lost if you have older children? Nope. We can all change our biases, even as adults. We do know that after age 9, racial attitudes tend to remain constant unless the individual experiences a life-changing event or a significant effort is made to alter their beliefs.
5
Parents and communities matter! Children tend to hold racial attitudes that reflect the norms and practices of the communities they are part of (Hirschfeld, 2012).
How to Raise Kids Who Won’t Be Racist (5-minute read)
Being part of an anti-bias home makes a difference for kids. Our own prejudices and biases lessen when we connect with others who have fewer prejudices and biases than we do (Aboud, 2008). Studies have shown that for White and Black children, conversations about racial prejudice decrease bias in the children and parents. (Bañales, et al, 2020; Perry, et al, 2020)