How to Teach Kids About Race
Parents of Black children are tasked with teaching them what it means to be Black in America from a very early age. Learning about the concepts of race, privilege and the cultural implications of both is called racial and ethnic socialization.
The American Psychological Association’s explanation of racial socialization puts it simply: “Some minority parents have concerns that talking about race to their children may cause their children to see themselves as victims or be hypersensitive; however, research actually shows the opposite—that youth who rarely receive messages about race have poorer psychological well-being.”
While Black families may often have conversations about racial and ethnic socialization out of safety and necessity, their children’s peers of any race can benefit from having the same conversations at home in a way that inspires equity, compassion and understanding for people of all races. When everyone is given opportunities to learn about their communities, they may move away from the harmful effects of ‘colorblindness,’ and toward a more genuine understanding of race, equity and inclusion.
When to Start Talking to Kids About Race
Though it’s easy to assume that conversations about race are too complicated or nuanced for young children, research shows that children notice differences among themselves and their peers much earlier than adults may think, and in many cases, earlier than adults are willing to discuss it with them. Left to their own understanding, children may pick up on false and discriminatory narratives from peers, media or other adults they interact with on a regular basis.
When addressed proactively, parental guidance about racial bias at different cognitive developmental stages throughout childhood can help children build positive, inclusive views of people with different races and ethnicities. Adults who are considering these conversations for the first time may benefit from self-reflection on their existing implicit racial biases before beginning to discuss them with young people.
The stages of cognitive development theorized by Jean Piaget explain that children’s development can be identified in four stages:
Stages of Cognitive Development and Racial Socialization
AGES 0-2 SENSORIMOTOR
- Learning from human interactions, mostly in the context of family and caregivers’ socialization practices.
- Building a sense of self through touching, seeing and hearing people and objects that surround them, culminating in object permanence by age 2.
- Picking up on verbal and non-verbal cues from adults. As early as 6 months, children can also mentally group people together based on race (PDF, 270KB).
AGES 2-6 PREOPERATIONAL
- Developing language and abstract communication skills based on the language spoken at home, at school or by others in their family.
- Learning from societal stereotypes perpetuated by adults and media, becoming capable of grouping others based on race, and likely to make generalizations about others based on characteristics.
- Realizing the value of fairness and being capable of feeling empathy for others. Can identify and understand when images, comments or behaviors are hurtful to others.
AGES 7-11 CONCRETE OPERATIONAL
- Understanding “conservation,” where the contents of two things can be equal, even if their shapes or appearances are different, and can be abstractly applied to people, ideas and objects.
- Identifying differences between the culture observed at home and the cultures observed at school or elsewhere in the world.
- Developing a sense of identity and belonging, and changing their socialization with others based on that identity.
AGES 11+ FORMAL OPERATIONAL
- Understanding the difference between facts and abstract potential, and questioning the parameters of what is considered right and wrong.
- Exploring and evaluating hypotheses about identity and social groups, and applying these ideas to their own lives and social peers.
- Understanding and validating others’ viewpoints, feelings and experiences, but continuing to display learned misinformation based on stereotypes or discriminatory ideas from adults and media.
Knowing these developmental stages can help adults decide when and how to talk to young people about race in an appropriate way, instead of assuming that a child’s silence about race means they’re uninterested or unaware of race in social dynamics. Children may pick up on adults’ taboo approach to race or discomfort around racial discussions, and mistakenly believe it’s inappropriate to discuss.
Forging a trustworthy, candid bond with children of all ages can help encourage their curiosity and openness to discussing race and culture as it relates to their environments.
Social workers and other clinicians should be aware of the developmental stage of the clients they’re caring for, and hold developmentally appropriate conversations that shape positive, inclusive views about race and ethnicity.
They can help curate school and library book collections that are helpful for promoting racial socialization, and work with other school staff to help address inclusive curriculum planning, anti-racism efforts and administrative policies that encourage racial socialization at school.
Resources for Teaching Kids About Race
The contents below are organized by age group, followed by resources for clinicians and adults who work with children of various age groups.
Infants and Toddlers
- Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism, PBS: tips and resources for parents including videos, articles and books to share with children.
- 10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race, EmbraceRace: recommendations for adults to introduce discussions about race, including advice and talking points.
- 16 Ways to Help Children Become Thoughtful, Informed and Brave About Race, EmbraceRace: additional tips for furthering conversations and empowering young children to think about open-mindedness, inclusion and self-love.
- Racial Justice, Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel: video library of segments where the Sesame Street cast explains the building blocks of racial literacy to family audiences.
Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race, Academia: downloadable explainer of research on children’s developmental stages relating to racial socialization. - Teaching Young Children About Race: A Guide for Parents and Teachers, Teaching for Change: strategies for teaching children about physical differences and similarities among races, and fostering respectful relationships.
- 20 Picture Books for 2020: Readings to Embrace Race, Provide Solace and Do Good, Embrace Race: book list of stories that represent a range of racial and ethnic identities and cultures for young children.
- When Do Kids Notice Race? Way Earlier Than Most Adults Think, Futurity: article written by developmental psychologists explaining research about cognitive development and racial socialization.
- Children’s Books By Black Authors, The Conscious Kid: book list featuring Black authors of stories for young children.
- Teaching Young Children About Bias, Diversity and Social Justice, Edutopia: five basic strategies for getting started with racial socialization lessons and conversations.
- An Activity Book For African American Families: Helping Children Cope With Crisis, National Black Child Development Institute and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: downloadable activity book that helps parents encourage communication and a sense of safety in discussions of race.
- Talking to Kids About Discrimination, APA: strategies and guidelines for discussing sensitive topics related to discrimination with young children.
- Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice (PDF, 3MB) , Learning for Justice: downloadable book with chapters organized by age, including expert Q&As and strategies for difficult conversations.
Older Children
- Exploring Cultures Around the World, Learning for Justice: lesson plans for learning about different cultures and groups of people designed for K-2 grade students.
- Let’s Talk About Race, Parents magazine: collection of articles on topics including tips for white parents raising diversity-aware kids and how to explain microaggressions to a kid.
- 7 Ways to Highlight Resistance Efforts When Discussing Oppression With Children, EmbraceRace: list of strategies for talking about racial justice movements with kids.
- Raising Race-Conscious Children: How to Talk to Kids About Race and Racism, University of Michigan Department of Health: strategies for talking about privilege, race and discrimination, recommended by a pediatrician.
- Books About Racism and Social Justice, Common Sense Media: curated books that tell stories of people’s lived experiences with race and inequality, organized by age group from 2-14+.
- Systemic Racism Explained, act.tv’s YouTube Channel: video explaining how systemic racism works through storytelling about a Black family and a white family.
- Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality, Brightly: curated book list for kids organized by age group, including picture books and chapter books.
- Talking to kids about race, National Geographic: strategies for introducing and continuing candid, honest conversations about race with children.
- Engaging My Child: Parent Tip Tool, APA: self-reflective questions and strategies for engaging with children, organized by age group and part of the APA’s RESilience program that focuses on racial and ethnic socialization.
- Breaking Down “Structural” and “Systemic” Racism for Our Children, EmbraceRace: video and transcript of an interview between a health equity research scientist and public school educator about explaining racism to children.
- Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Second Edition, by Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards and Catherine M. Goins: book for early childhood educators and school staff about anti-bias curriculum planning, from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- Talking to Children After Racial Incidents, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education: interview with clinical psychologist and professor who studies racial literacy and racial trauma about engaging children in conversations about race.
- 100 Race-Conscious Things You Can Say to Your Child to Advance Racial Justice, Raising Race Conscious Children: examples of language and strategies for instilling positive, inclusive ideas about racial socialization.
Adolescents
- Talking to Kids About Race and Racism, Nemours KidsHealth: explanations of why and how to engage the whole family in conversations about race.
- Let’s Talk! External link , Learning for Justice: guide for navigating conversations with young people about white privilege, police violence and mass incarceration.
- Educating All of Our Children: Understanding and Addressing Implicit Bias The Perception Institute: downloadable article that explains implicit bias and how it affects students’ development and socialization.
- Book Lists, The Conscious Kid: curated lists of books on different topics of anti-racism, resilience and racial literacy.
- Racial Literacy Key Terms, The Conscious Kid: glossary of terms used in discussions of racial socialization and literacy.
- Supporting Kids of Color in the Wake of Racialized Violence, EmbraceRace: podcast episode about supporting children of color in conversations about police brutality and racial violence.
- Talking to Teens About Race, Momentous Institute: ideas for parents to initiate questions about race and perception with their teens.
- Talking About Race With Teens, Center for Parent & Teen Communication: interview with Dr. Howard Stevenson, professor and director of Forward Promise, about advice for talking to teens about racial differences and self-love.
- Teaching Materials to Explore by Theme, Zinn Education Project: lesson plans for teaching students about a range of racial, ethnic, religious and gender identities.
- How to Talk to Your Kids About Race, Racism and Police Violence, WBUR: interview highlights from an episode of On Point podcast, with ideas for engaging young people in conversations about race and explaining racial incidents in the news.
- How to Talk to Kids and Teens About Racism, Hillside Atlanta: strategies for finding out what kids may already think about race and engaging in ongoing discussions about it.
- What It Takes to Be Racially Literate, TED: video of a TED Talk from Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo that combines personal stories and research about racial literacy.
Resources for Social Workers and Adults Who Work With Children
- Race and Violence Should Be a School-Wide Subject, EduTopia: roadmap for schools and their communities for discussing racial violence, police brutality and support for students of color.
- Children’s Books With Strong Black Characters, PBS: curated book list that features diverse examples of Black stories and characters for kids.
- First Encounters With Race and Racism: Teaching Ideas for Classroom Conversations, New York Times: firsthand accounts from teenagers to guide discussions about race in the classroom.
- Beyond Statements and Hashtags: Effective Practices to Disrupt Dehumanization, Forward Promise: downloadable guide of 10 applicable and relevant strategies for educating communities to support and affirm boys and young men of color.
- What White Children Need to Know About Race, National Association of Independent Schools: article explaining specific skills, strategies and implementations for racial socialization in a school setting.
- Talking to Kids About Racial Stereotypes (PDF, 287KB), Media Smarts: printable tip sheet for discussing media portrayals of characters of different races with children of all ages.
- Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools, by Howard C. Stern: book about implementing and measuring outcomes of racial literacy skills in school settings.
- Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: A List for Parents, Caregivers and Educators, Oakland Public Library: shareable Google doc of resources for adults to use in lesson plans, discussions and curricula for young learners.
- Other People’s Children, by Lisa Delpit: a book analysis of the role of race in the contemporary classroom, written for educators, administrators and other school staff.
- Talking to Kids About Racism and Violence, Child Mind Institute: tips for educating and supporting children while navigating and encouraging their curiosity about race.
- How to Talk to Kids About Race: Books and Resources That Can Help, Brightly: ideas and book recommendations for adults to explore before they begin talking to children about race.
- Teaching Hard History Podcast External link , Learning for Justice: podcast episodes covering a range of history topics about racism, civil rights and police violence in the United States.
- Resources for Educators Focusing on Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching, Early Childhood Education Assembly: curated resources for school professionals who want to further their own education before introducing conversations about race in the classroom.
- Black Lives Matter: Anti-Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists, Social Work Career: toolkit of resources for clinicians who want to learn more about anti-racism strategies, or to use with their clients.
- Teaching for Black Lives: book written by a community of advocates to encourage educators to connect curricula with student activism and collective action for racial equity and justice.
- How to Talk to Kids About Anti-Asian Violence, Parents magazine: article for parents to think intentionally and creatively about discussing violence and introducing other cultures in a positive way.
- How to Honor Indigenous Peoples with Your Kids, Today and Every Day, PBS SoCal: ideas for centering the experiences of Native communities, including self-reflective and exploratory questions for learning about heritage, community and the history of indigenous lands.
Organizations Dedicated to Racial Socialization
- EduColor: organization founded by people of color, for people of color to advocate for the discussion of race and social justice in education.
- EmbraceRace: organization dedicated to creating and distributing resources for racial socialization that cater to young children.
- Forward Promise: organization that uses research and fundraising to advance culturally relevant healing practices for boys and young men of color.
- Learning for Justice: free resources for adults working with K-12 students to inform and supplement racially inclusive and justice-oriented curricula.
- The Perception Institute: research institute focused on translating scientific findings on race, gender and ethnicity into remedies for sectors such as education, health care, law enforcement and media.
- Project LIT Community: online community of educators and students working to eliminate book deserts and anti-racist reading policies at schools across the country.
- Raising Race Conscious Children: blog for adults who are interested in fostering discussions about race with young children.
- Showing Up for Racial Justice: collective action community aimed at increasing participation of white people in social justice efforts.
The information in this article is for informational purposes only; individuals should consult with a professional before making decisions about children’s mental health and development.