Resources to Help You Talk with Your Child about Racial Inequality

Conversations with young kids regarding racism can feel difficult to have. It seems hard to know when it’s appropriate to start having these conversations, if we should be addressing the violence we see on the news, and how we can teach our children to be anti-racist. The truth is, we can start having these conversations with our kids when they are quite young. In fact, we should start having these conversations, as kids are experiencing racial inequality and bias at their young age. 

At Sunfield Center we strive to be a part of the solution, because there is clearly a problem with racial inequality and the treatment of black people throughout our country. This blog is a compiled list of resources for parents outlining tips on how to talk to kids about a variety of topics related to race and racism. There are some quick reads for the busy parent, and some longer suggested reading lists for those wishing to dive deeper into the topic.

 

Race and Racism

• How to Talk to Your Kids about Racism
  • This 5 minute blog post from Nationwide Children’s answers questions and provides tips on how to talk with kids about racism
• Your Age-by-Age Guide to Talking About Race
  • This 5-minute blog from Parents.com provides tips on how to approach conversations about race and ethnicity with kids of varying ages
• How to Talk to Kids about Race and Racism
  • This 10-minute blog post on ParentToolkit.com discusses tips on how to navigate conversations related to race and racism, in addition to outlining ways parents can model anti-racist behavior for their kids
• Talking Race with Young Children
  • This 20-minute podcast from NPR’s Parenting: Difficult Conversations, outlines how to talk with your child about race and ethnicity
• Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice
  • This book provides tips on how to talk about and respond to prejudice with kids of different ages

 

• RESilience: uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication About Race 
  • This website from the American Psychiatric Association contains resources to help parents engage children in conversations about race, engage children in reading books about race and ethnicity, and a suggested book list

Racism and Violence

• Racism and Violence: How to Help Kids Handle the News
  • This 5-minute read from the Child Mind Institute provides concrete tips on how to talk to your children about racially based violence
• Resources for Discussing Police Violence , Race, and Racism with Students 
  • This blog post from Education Weekly discusses the negative effects recent events have had on children, and provides resources for facilitating discussion about race with children in a classroom, including videos, activites, and articles to utilize
• Racism and Violence: Using Your Power as a Parent to Support children Aged Two to Five 
  • This 5-minute blog from Zero to Three provides parents with guidelines and tips on how to talk with children between the ages of two to five about racism and violence

Privilege

• Understanding Race and Privilege
  • This 10-minute read from the National Association of School Psychologists discusses race, privilege, and their effects in schools

Race and Autism

• How Racism Impacts Black Kids with Autism: From the Clinic to the Classroom 
  • This 5-minute blog from Speak Up discusses how race impacts the diagnosis, care, and education of black children on the autism spectrum
• Tips for Talking to Adults on the Autism Spectrum 
  • This quick-read blog from the May Institute that provides tips for talking to adults on the autism spectrum that can be useful when discussing current events

Additional Resource Lists

• Anti-Racism Books and Resources
• Anti-Racism Resources
• Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources