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We are with you on this, but with a twist... Our next child is likely to be mixed or full African American, but we are not. So we'll be a transracial family!

We are lucky to have lots of great role models in our lives for navigating the challenges of race in America. We do a lot of reading on racial/ethnic identity and it's also part of my work research!

i heard some interracial kids don't even like the term "mixed"... in korea, we called them "amerasians"....

I don't really like the term "mixed" either

I'm half Cuban-American (2nd generation) and half white. I had some identity issues growing up but I totally relate to what @mrbee said about developing a non-ethnic identity. To me, my ethnicity really has nothing to do with me as a person. DH on the other hand is African-American and identifies strongly with being black. Our kids will be 1/2 black, 1/4 Cuban and 1/4 white. I always say that odds are they will "look black" to most folks, which DH disagrees with vehemently for some reason. Who know how they'll turn out! I hope they are interested in all of their heritage, and I also hope they don't feel pressure to identify with one particular part of their ethnicity.

@cyneswith: Huh?

@Zuzu2and11: The Philippines is a bit unusual with regards to ethnicity though... much of Japan, Korea and many regions of China are pretty racially homogeneous. My parents have lived in the Philippines for a while now, and every time I visit them I am amazed at how racially diverse the country is!

@mrsjyw: When I visited Japan, I found that a lot of people liked anyone from America! Although my white friends were more popular haha, especially if they had blonde hair.

Anyway you just learn not to care what people think. In the grand scheme of problems to have, it ain't so bad!

My mother is from Japan and dad is German-American (axis countries, I know). Like most Asian Americans, I am prone to general stereotypes out there and there is no way of getting around that. It depends on how you, the individual and person, handles it and how you are raised to handle it. I don't take it personally and I do like having a different cultural background than others. However, when I travel to Japan to visit relatives I get a lot of judging stares from the older generations (esp women). I don't take that personally either....If/when DH and I have kids I don't think the stereotypes will affect them as much since they'll be a quarter Asian and I tend to think younger generations are more accepting of mixed races than our parents and grandparents' generations (WWII gen) on both sides of the pond.

I've heard kids called "half-breed" behind their backs - it's a derogatory term, like oreo (black on the outside, white on the inside). Halfie strongly reminds me of that. Mulatto is an awkard enough term when used correctly (having slavery-related origins and connotations) - but it's almost worse when used incorrectly. Like an old boss of mine who looked Mulatto was actually full-blooded Egyptian, or Indian friends who, again, people assume are mixed race.

@cyneswith: I'm familiar with those terms. Was just impressed that you packed so many racially charged terms into one post.

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I live in a place where multi-racial backgrounds are the norm. My husband is Japanese and I'm Irish-German. Our kids will be Eurasians, or "hapa" as we say here in Hawaii. The blending of cultures is why I love living here so much.

An interesting book to thumb through is "Part Asian, 100% Hapa" by Kip Fulbeck. The perspectives given are eye opening and to see where everyone featured in the book is from is fascinating.

I'm Japanese but grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, that was predominantly caucasion. I remember getting teased alot when I was younger, like in kindergarten for looking different. I didn't know any other asian kids until I got to high school and there was 1 chinese boy there. My baby will be half Japanese and half German American. We are currently living in Japan, which can seem like a very ethnocentric country depending on where you are from. Since we are in Tokyo, I don't really think our baby will have that much of a problem being accepted. Also, we have a few japanese friends, but majority of friends are other expats, who also have multicultral kids. I know certain ethnicities have a very hard time here in japan. I've heard japanese korean kids are picked on alot. i also think the newer generation here is much more accepting than say my mom's generation. By the time baby starts school, we probably will be living elsewhere, but even then, I don't see many problems, as she will be attending international school, which is very culturally diverse.

@ecogirl: I think it helps alot to be in a big city. when my husband and I travel around Japan and visit small rural areas, he gets stared at alot, which I'm sure is uncomfortable for him. Fortunately, we've lived in Asia for several years now, so he's gotten used to it and it doesn't bother him so much anymore. But we definitely don't want our kids to grow up being uncomfortable because of their race, as both of us have now had a chance to experience it.

@cyndistar3: That's exactly how my sister and BIL are, except she and their son are blue eyed, blonde hair, and he is Native American. One time they were out shopping and someone actually came up to him and told him it was nice of him to my sister and "her" baby!!!

My son is half Asian (Thai), half white. We live in an extremely small southern town, and no, I wouldn't be comfortable raising him here! We'll be leaving in the summer.

Funnily enough, his Asian grandparents always remark on how "white" he looks, and the white grandparents say he looks so Asian. Ha. His grandpa sometimes calls him "farang," which is "Westerner/outsider" in Thai. He means it affectionately, I think, but it still rubs me the wrong way when he says it constantly. Last time he did it, LO started bawling. Had to laugh...

@mrbee: Harry Potter! You crack me up.

My daughter is half Asian, half white, too. I have been mistaken for her nanny by an actual nanny in my neighborhood. We live in a very white neighborhood so I guess she just assumed that I was a nanny because I'm an Asian person pushing a stroller. To be fair, all the other Asians I have seen ARE nannies.

Sometimes I have concerns that my future babies will not look like me. I worry what they would think as they grow up and realize, "hey, I look different than my mommy!" I hope that it will lead to a positive outlook on race and differences in general.

@ hola abejita - I worried the same thing. Or that people would think he was adopted or something!

@daniellemybelle: Why does he disagree so much?

Hi luv! So nice to see you on here too. This is an issue I've been concerned with for such a long time. As you know, my lil lovey is bi-racial (the term I use so as not to offend anyone, seems the safest). I worry that people are still ignorant enough to judge her. I'm sensitive of this issue so I was already kind of defensive when one of the doctors in her pediatricians office asked what ethnicity she was. I answered her. But in my head I wanted to ask, "how does that affect the way you treat her as a patient?". Needless to say I'll be requesting the doctor I like only, from now on. There really isn't anything else I can do about the matter other than to raise her in an open, loving home. And to open a dialogue about this early on. We certainly cannot educate everyone. There are books to kind of help parents along the way, I plan to pick up a couple. I think you have to be delicate about it, I know some people that have developed complexes and can't seem to overcome the offensive things they've experienced as children.