{"id":11970,"date":"2024-01-22T21:51:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T21:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/11970\/"},"modified":"2025-05-10T15:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T15:00:34","slug":"talking-to-kids-about-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/11970\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking to kids about discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts say diversity and discrimination are subjects that need to be addressed with children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussing discrimination can be hard enough for adults. Talking to kids about the subject can be especially daunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

People can be discriminated against for any number of reasons, including age, gender, weight, religion, income level, disability, sexual orientation, and race or ethnicity. According to the 2015 APA Stress in America Survey, most Americans feel they have experienced discrimination. However, experiences of day-to-day discrimination are most likely to be reported by racial and ethnic minorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many people are uncomfortable discussing racial differences. But when it comes to talking to children, experts say diversity and discrimination are subjects that shouldn\u2019t be ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children notice<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people are hesitant to talk to their kids about differences because they don\u2019t want to draw attention to them. But whether you talk about those differences or not, kids notice when someone looks different than they do. They also notice when certain groups seem to be treated differently than others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies show that even infants can distinguish skin tones. By early childhood, kids begin to have more favorable opinions of people they perceive as \u201cthe same\u201d as they are\u2013even if the similarities are meaningless. In one study, for instance, researchers randomly assigned 6-year-olds to either a green group or an orange group. Later, the kids were more likely to remember positive things about the kids in their own group, and negative things about kids in the other group.<\/span><\/p>\n

When parents avoid talking about differences and discrimination, experts say, children learn that the topic is taboo. Children might come to believe the differences they notice are more important than they really are. And they might be hesitant to ask questions, missing opportunities to challenge and correct stereotypes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussing differences, on the other hand, can help kids appreciate diversity and better recognize discrimination when they see it. In one experiment with 8- to 11-year-olds, researchers read children storybooks that either downplayed racial differences (referred to as a \u201ccolor-blind\u201d approach) or talked about the value of diversity. Later, when listening to stories that featured examples of racial bias, the children who had read the \u201ccolor-blind\u201d books were less likely to recognize that bias. Kids who learned about diversity, on the other hand, were better at identifying examples of discrimination.2<\/span><\/p>\n

The stress of being discriminated<\/strong> against<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All children can benefit from talking openly about diversity and bias. But for kids in groups more likely to be a target of discrimination, such conversations can be even more critical.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perceived discrimination has been linked to physical and mental health problems including anxiety, depression, obesity, high blood pressure, and substance abuse. Many of these problems are believed to stem from the chronic stress associated with being a potential target of discrimination.3<\/span><\/p>\n

Discrimination-related stress can also affect how kids feel about themselves. It might prevent them from speaking up in class, or from participating in activities that are important to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

But talking openly with children can prepare them for dealing with discrimination, and help them keep discrimination-related stress in check.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussing<\/strong> discrimination<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 How can you talk to your children about diversity and discrimination? Here are some guidelines to keep in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect to have \u201cthe talk\u201d about discrimination. It shouldn\u2019t be one conversation. Rather, let the discussion be open and ongoing.Parents often avoid talking about hard subjects (including sex, underage drinking and discrimination) because they\u2019re personally uncomfortable. Keep talking anyway. The discussions get easier over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Use age-appropriate language children can understand, and don\u2019t give kids too much information at once. The conversation will get deeper and more nuanced as they get older.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Learn to respond to children\u2019s questions about <\/span>differences and bias as they come up naturally.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Help children feel that their questions are welcome,or they might come to believe that discussing differences is taboo.Help children understand the value of diversity. A diverse set of experiences and viewpoints boosts creativity and helps kids (and adults) better understand the world around them. On the other hand, discrimination hurts everyone\u2013not just the targets of discrimination. When people are discriminated against, we can miss an important opportunity to learn from them.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Take opportunities to raise discussions based on what you see around you\u2013in real life, books, television shows and even video games. You might ask: \u201cThere aren\u2019t many female characters in this video game. What do you think of that?\u201d or \u201cDo you think that show accurately portrays LGBT characters, or does it rely on stereotypes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Help kids learn how to deal with being the potential target of discrimination. Plan ahead by developing healthy comebacks or responses to hurtful discriminatory statements. For example: \u201cWhat an unkind thing to say.\u201d \u201cExcuse me? Could you repeat that?\u201d \u201cI disagree with you, and here\u2019s why\u2026\u201dIf you hear children say something discriminatory, don\u2019t just hush them. Use the opportunity as a conversation starter to address their fears and correct their misperceptions.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Challenge your own assumptions and behavior. Do you laugh at racially insensitive jokes? Do you cross the street to avoid passing people of a different ethnic group? Children learn from your actions as well as your words.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Broaden their horizons. Think about the diversity of your own friendship and parenting networks and the places where you spend time. When kids are exposed to people from diverse backgrounds, they have more opportunities to learn about others and discover what they have in common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Experts say diversity and discrimination are subjects that need to be addressed with children. Discussing discrimination can be hard enough for adults. Talking to kids about the subject can be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,292],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-studies","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11972,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11970\/revisions\/11972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}