https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 11 May 2026 07:33:36 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-947717 Sat, 20 Jul 2013 02:38:08 +0000 loveisstrange 947717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I would love a more specific post on the topic. Resources with maybe a list of questions a topics based on the age of the child.</p> <p>Being from the area of St Louis we are from, C will grow up living in a very multi-cultural area and going to very racially mixed schools and I want her to know these things before she gets to that point. Im just a little lost on where to start. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-947673 Sat, 20 Jul 2013 00:52:45 +0000 twinmama 947673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Another good book is Global Babies. It's really simple, but has close up photos of babies from a bunch of different countries. It's one of my kids all time favorite books, and I think the exposure to different features is good for them too.</p> <p>Our family is very multicultural, so I think a lot of it will just come through daily life. But @Mrs. Jacks: I would love to hear more of what you're doing too! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-947537 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 22:21:43 +0000 Mrs. Blue 947537@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I would LOVE another post about what you are doing now with both girls, any new things you've learned, and any resources you have. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-947487 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:30:09 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 947487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sloaneandpuffy: I would just say that I was surprised that my daughter was noticing race, but not knowing how to talk about it much earlier than one would realize (18 months). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946530 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:50:57 +0000 mamimami 946530@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Totally agree with @erinpye. We live in Mexico and we interact with people of different races and socioeconomic classes every day. (Well, to start with, my husband and I are different races.) The most important thing we want our children to learn is to treat all people with respect and consideration. In this culture, that includes greeting people and saying goodbye to them (even strangers, depending on the circumstances) -- regardless of social position, using honorifics when appropriate (señor/a, don/doña, Ud. etc.), being kind and generous in general, etc. At some point in the future we may need to actually DISCUSS race, but for now I am happy our 2.5 year old is very polite and doesn't seem to notice the difference between people. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946498 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:37:19 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 946498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Maybe it's time for another blog post with some more resources! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946485 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:31:08 +0000 Mrs. Blue 946485@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scg00387: At the moment, we live in a pretty homogenous area, too, which is part of why I'm extra concerned about making sure that we are intentional about addressing racial issues with our boys. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946453 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:22:59 +0000 immabeetoo 946453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Subscribing! I've bought a few books specifically seeking out either their discussion of race </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823423050/ref=oh_details_o00_s03_i03?ie=UTF8&#038;psc=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823423050/ref=oh_details_o00_s03_i03?ie=UTF8&#038;psc=1</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Skin-You-Live-In/dp/0975958003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1374261267&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=the+skin+we+live+in" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/The-Skin-You-Live-In/dp/0975958003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1374261267&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=the+skin+we+live+in</a></p> <p>or books that are simply stories with non-white characters.</p> <p>I have been thinking often lately about how to make sure LO doesn't only see white people as he grows up... we live in a very homogenous area :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946442 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:20:20 +0000 plantains 946442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside everytime I read it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946370 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:05:39 +0000 Honeybee 946370@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks to some suggestions by @Mrs. Jacks: I've starfted having conversations with DD about race. We read stories with characters of different races and discuss how people we know in real life have different skin tones, hair colors/textures, etc... It feels so awkward, at first, to point out someone's skin color, but it becomes easier with practice. The trickier part, to me, is not having the conversations with your children; it's explaining your conversations to other people who overhear your 3 year old discussing "that lady's beautiful skin". :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-946364 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:05:01 +0000 Mrs. Blue 946364@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@plantains: That book looks adorable! I'll have to get it for the baby dudes. </p> <p>@erinpye: I absolutely agree that actions speak louder than words. I just don't know that I think actions speak loud enough that no words are necessary. I'm kind of in the camp that we need to openly discuss AND demonstrate acceptance of all races. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945943 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 12:03:14 +0000 erinpye 945943@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I honestly feel like the best way to teach kids not to discriminate is to set a good example as parents. Parents are responsible for a lot of what their kids learn to do and say, and they watch how we adults treat each other. Children may not listen to what their parents say, but they do imitate their actions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945922 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:54:36 +0000 plantains 945922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One of DD's favourite books is Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Little-Fingers-Toes/dp/015206057X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1374252809&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=ten+little+fingers+and+ten+little+toes" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Little-Fingers-Toes/dp/015206057X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1374252809&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=ten+little+fingers+and+ten+little+toes</a> which I think gets the message across perfectly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945802 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:16:48 +0000 mrsjazz 945802@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is only 15 months so we don't have conversations yet. For right now it's through books and toys. She loves her "Shades of People," "Subway," "Corduroy," "My First Body Board Book," and more, which all feature babies/kids/and people of all shades. It's interesting to watch her "read" the "Shades of People" book, I noticed she's really drawn to the Asian kids. (I wonder what that means.)</p> <p>Our nanny share family is white, so LOs BFF right now is a blue-eyed blonde little girl. They have play dates with a little Indian girl and our singalongs we attend are very diverse. I know she's already noticed the differences in her hair vs. her friend's hair. (All the little kids love to pet her hair because it's puffy like a cloud and she doesn't like that). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945704 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:52:04 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 945704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mewtill: :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945621 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:32:55 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 945621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I taught preschool we did a lot of "alike &amp; different" talk (two things look different, but they are also alike). We pointed out when people tried/did different things and how positive experiences come from differences. We didn't put an explicit point on skin color though and I wish we had. I think that's how I'll approach it with my son. </p> <p>Skin color is so obvious to children, so I think allowing yourself to comment on it in a positive way is where to start. As a white person, I wouldn't want to say "The lady with the dark skin." I'd look for different descriptors, but a child would likely be confused - skin color is the obvious descriptor. So, it's about recognizing &amp; discussing that different skin colors ARE a part of our world but they aren't useful indicators of someone's worth (just like eye color isn't helpful). When kids are older, like grade-school, I think discussions of the way society deals with race are more appropriate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945356 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:26:50 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 945356@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started with books that portray folks of different races as the main character. One of Lala's favorite books is Barack Obama's "letter to my daughters". It portrays real life heroes of many different backgrounds. We talk about why they are important in history.</p> <p>It's important to be developmentally appropriate with the conversation. I talk about that in my blog post on race.</p> <p>We also talk about how M and X are different than Lala and how these differences should be celebrated. We are as o this morning adding discussion of Lala's ethnic heritage.</p> <p>I think first kids need to understand that different is good and then you build on that later.</p> <p><a href="http://www.hellobee.com/2012/08/03/talking-with-children-about-race/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hellobee.com/2012/08/03/talking-with-children-about-race/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945310 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:15:41 +0000 wahine08 945310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Blue: I don't have kids yet (I'm pregnant with our first) but I'm curious about this too. I'm in an interracial relationship (DH is white and I am asian) and I literally didn't give this a SINGLE thought until this week when I saw the Cheerios commercial on the topic.. may be somewhat ignorant I suppose, but I just didn't ever think about it when it came to my children! Not yet at least.</p> <p>I grew up being bullied because of my race and still deal with comments and "jokes" from people.. I will definitely need to find ways to discuss this with LO when the time comes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-are-practical-waysexamples-of-how-to-teach-children-to-not-discriminate#post-945289 Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:08:54 +0000 Mrs. Blue 945289@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mrs. Bird posted an article here: <a href="http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/see-baby-discriminate-children-and-race?replies=4#post-945269" rel="nofollow">http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/see-baby-discriminate-children-and-race?replies=4#post-945269</a> that made me think about another post by Mr. Bee on the blog a while back. One of the things it discusses is talking openly with children about race rather than just trying to make them "color blind." I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and I would love to hear practical ways that you help your children learn to view all races as special, interesting, &amp; someone with whom you can be friends, etc. </p> <p>Anyone want to share examples of how you work this into play, conversations, etc.? </p>