How to Foster Anti-Racism in Children and Toddlers
Guest Authored By Colleen M, RBT
When thinking about how to foster anti-racism with your children, there are many different ways that you can start at a young age. You can approach the subject matter with kids through play, education, and social settings. Below are some tips on how to foster anti-racism with your children and toddlers.
Play:
Prioritize racially diverse toys: There are many toys out there that feature people with different skin colors. Some of these toys include action figures, dolls, puzzles, and crayons, and coloring books.
Education:
Books: Incorporate a variety of books that include people with different skin colors that are from different cultures all around the world. This will introduce and educate your children on different cultures. There are many books on specific cultures and races individually but there are also books that talk about everyone coming together as one and being inclusive with one another. After reading these books about different racial backgrounds and cultures, ask your child questions about the books and start conversations with them. At early ages, you may just be reading to them but as they get older, here are some questions you could ask.
- How did you feel when reading the book?
- What characters could you relate to?
- How do you think you might feel if you were in the character’s situation?
- What did you learn about the characters that were different from you?
Social:
In your everyday life, introduce yourself and your children to others of all different skin colors and cultures. Another way to introduce your children to different cultures is trying different cuisines and cultural traditions from an early age.
