{"id":3451,"date":"2021-06-02T10:21:56","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T17:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=3451"},"modified":"2023-08-09T01:56:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T08:56:21","slug":"why-talk-to-your-children-about-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/why-talk-to-your-children-about-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Talk to Your Children About Racism?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>\u201cYou can\u2019t play on this fire truck because your skin is brown,\u201d a preschool classmate told my older son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t go through this tunnel because your skin isn\u2019t peach color,\u201d a kindergarten classmate told my younger son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re really smart for a black girl,\u201d was a common phrase I heard most of my school years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These are personal examples of why I talk with my sons about racism.<\/p>\n<p>As parents, we want to protect our little ones from harm and any cruel realities in our society. As an African American mother, wife, and pediatrician, I know firsthand this can be a difficult feat. My husband and I have conversations regularly with our boys to let them know what to do when they\u2019re treated unfairly. We also build self-esteem by encouraging them to be proud of their heritage and history. We started these conversations during their preschool years, much sooner than I ever thought I\u2019d have to.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a statement on \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pediatrics.aappublications.org\/content\/144\/2\/e20191765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health<\/a>\u201d that affirmed:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cRacism is a social determinant of health that has a profound impact on the health status of children, adolescents, emerging adults, and their families.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In addition, the AAP noted that these experiences not only affect those that have been targets of racism but \u201cbystanders are also adversely affected\u201d by what they may have witnessed. This highlights the effects on all children, regardless of race or ethnic background. These conversations are important for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>In our home, we check in with our boys about their day. We simply ask, \u201cHow was your day today?\u201d That&#8217;s always a good starting point. If something comes up that\u2019s concerning, we ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0\u201cDid something make you feel sad or upset?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m sorry that happened, but thank you for telling me. Tell me more about it, or what it made you think about.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI experienced (or heard) something like that before and I remember how it made me feel.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhat are your thoughts on why that may have happened?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cYou know what they said was wrong\/not right\/not fair\u2026. you know the truth or what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, and the senseless rise in violence against Asian Americans, all our children are exposed to the impacts of racism. They may be affected personally, hear about it on the news, or through conversations overheard from family members or other kids.<\/p>\n<p>As a pediatrician and mother, I want to make families aware that it\u2019s important to start conversations about racism with your children, regardless of age or background. Our kids look to us for comfort, guidance, and encouragement. As parents, we don\u2019t always need the \u201cperfect\u201d answer or words all the time, but we should be a trusted source they can always ask for help.<\/p>\n<p>Resources for Parents<\/p>\n<p>American Academy of Pediatrics<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/healthy-living\/emotional-wellness\/Building-Resilience\/Pages\/Talking-to-Children-about-Racism.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Talking to Children about Racism: The Time is Now<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/healthy-living\/emotional-wellness\/Building-Resilience\/Pages\/Talking-to-Children-About-Racial-Bias.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Talking to Children About Racial Bias<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This post was authored by <a href=\"https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/providers\/latashawilliams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Latasha Williams, M.D.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As parents, we want to protect our little ones from harm and any cruel realities in our society. As an African American mother, wife, and pediatrician, I know firsthand this can be a difficult feat. My husband and I have conversations regularly with our boys to let them know what to do when they\u2019re treated unfairly. We also build self-esteem by encouraging them to be proud of their heritage and history. We started these conversations during their preschool years, much sooner than I ever thought I\u2019d have to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[282,114,61,593,594,142,295,595],"class_list":["post-3451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-life","tag-friends","tag-friendship","tag-parenting","tag-race","tag-racism","tag-talking-with-children","tag-talking-with-kids","tag-talking-with-kids-about-race","ages-all-school-ages"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1691571381:8"],"_edit_last":["8"],"slide_template":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Talk with kids about race"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["52"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["293"],"post_featured_author_bio":["Dr Latasha Williams states: \u201dAs a pediatrician, I enjoy partnering with families to provide the best care possible for their children. As a parent myself, I  understand the many joys and challenges that can come from being a parent. I hope to be a source of education and guidance for my patients and their family.\u201d Dr. Williams full biography can be found on {{My Doctor Online}}."],"post_featured_author_bio_link":["https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/providers\/latashawilliams"],"post_featured_author_image":["https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Latasha-Williams-Updated2.png"],"_thumbnail_id":["3458"],"post_featured_author_role":["YES"],"wpfp_favorites":["1"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1691571381"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3451"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3505,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3451\/revisions\/3505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}