Racial awareness from a 5 year old???

Question

My daughter is asking me questions about race and skin color. She's 5 years old! I'm 31 and I dont think I became aware or cared of race until I was a teenager. So I'm trying to explain to her that people have all different skin types, even in the same family. Just trying to disregard skin color. Race is a bit tougher. Any ideas on how to teach her simply ( a way that a 5 year old can understand) that all people are different and the same, and we should treat and think of each other as a brotherhood of human kind? I'm not looking for politically correct either. I think that's garbage.

Answer 1

Don't worry about her asking---its not a bad thing, it can be a good thing. We carry all this fear about race and skin color and WHAT IT ALL MEANS around with us in our heads and hearing a kid ask a question about race can make us jump.

What do we say? How do we teach? Have I missed teaching something?

Our kids don't carry the history of European expansion, the slave trade, wars against native peoples, internment of the Japanese in WW2, the Holocaust and all the other race/ethnic/religious attrocities of humanity around in their heads.

Sometimes they just want to know why Sally sunburns like crazy and Vanessa has wicked curly hair.

So keep it simple. You have eyes and hair like Mom or Aunt Sue or whatever and other kids look like their families. We're all people, we just look and sound different.

Do you watch Sesame Street? Muppets and people of every shape and size live together...

Answer 2

Joe Louis was submissive to whites, I wouldn't call him an "Uncle Tom" because he never alienated his own people. However, the United States government and White America used Joe Louis as a tool, Ali and the Black Panther Party were smart enough to acknowledge it. African Americans soldiers during World War Two were treated worse than some of the prisoners they set free. Joe Louis was a marking tool so that other young Black men would feel a since of accomplishment by joining the military when all reality they were "working for the enemy" sorta speak. I don't think they should have attacked Joe Louis because he fought for what he believed was right although I don't think he had much of a choice. Muhammad Ali for all the great things he did he also did a number of things that I consider uncalled for and IF THIS IS TRUE THEN ITS ONE OF THEM. I never heard of Ali calling Joe Louis anything derogatory at the same time I wouldn't put it past him.

Answer 3

I think this is a hard question/situation. Recently my 5 year old nephew (he is mixed african american/caucasion) started pre-school- when he came home from school he had a note asking my sister in law to call his teacher. When she did she found out that a little girl in his class had told everyone in the class not to play with the little black boy. I know you can't blame the little girl, but at the same time I don't want my nephew to have to go through this sort of thing his whole life. Obviously i think alot of prejudice and judgement comes from the neighborhoods you grow up in and different people that you meet. I think the best thing you can do is what you are doing- talking to your child at a young age and explaining that just because someone looks different then you doesn't make them a bad person. It's a tough thing to explain but it's worth your time.

Answer 4

Just tell her that we have different people of different colors and religions, that we must respect everyone. Also that if someone says to her something she doesn't understand to ask you as soon as she is with you. To like children the same way she would like other to like her. But please do tell her there is bad people of all races and good people too.Simple as that. We don't want to cover her eyes, she needs to understand that all races do not mean her well at all times.

Answer 5

WOW! She's obviously heard this from someone because differences in color and race and learned.

Basically that people from different places in the world look different and sound different but are the same. We all have 2 eyes, feet, hands, legs, arms, ears, etc and should be treated all the same.

Answer 6

I think she's just being curious about life
Explain to her that just as there's a difference between being a boy and a girl.
God made evryone unique in ther way just by giving each other different colors of eyes, ahir and skin. Otherwise it'd be as if we all wore uniforms, it'd be boring in a while.

People resemblance a hand, we all have different sizes of fingers in one hand. But in the end it's one hand.
It's the same people are different in apparence, but we all have the same heart.

I hope it helps you :D

Answer 7

Any question is hard to answer at that age...I would simply just tell her that God / Jesus / Baby Jesus (whoever she can relate to) made everyone different. Some of her friends have blonde / brown / red hair, some are boys and some are girls, just like some have light skin and some have darker skin.

Answer 8

My 6 year old neice asks about people's differences all the time. We just explain that God makes everyone different. We all have different eye colors and skin tones and that is what makes us who we are. Just like God made her with freckles he made other children in wheelchairs. Pull out magazines or books and have her show you what is different about all those people.

Answer 9

If you generally have God/religion in your household then follow some of the previous suggestions. If not, get a globe and point to different parts of the world and tell her that in China people look like this and Africa like that and in Russia like so and so. Also, tell her that kids in India ask their parents what kids in the US look like, and where do white kids come from too. Good luck

Answer 10

Just explain to her "People from different parts of the world, look different. They're just like you and me, they just have different colored skin sometimes."