Noticing

So, I've had a few conversations with people who wonder whether or not young kids should be taught explicitly about race...and I think it's mostly a white privilege to have to wonder about that. In the reading I've done about transracial adoption and anti-racist parenting/living, it's hugely important to talk about race and differences from the beginning. Ignoring does more harm than good. It's been interesting the past few weeks because Ali has been noticing colors more in her environment. And while we talk about colors and skin-colors and how beautiful all the skin colors in our family are, she hasn't really cared before. But now, she loves pointing out that Ava's skin is brown and Ava has black hair. The funny thing is Ali was saying she had white skin...so I had to correct that. I know, I know, not like my girls will understand the difference between a racial label (like black and white) and actual skin color for a while, but I want both of them to at least be able to describe each other accurately now so that we can have that abstract conversation about societal labels later on in their lives. So, I'm teaching Ali her skin is peach or sandy tan. She's likes saying it's peach. And she loves comparing skin tones in books, which leads me to the following book suggestions...some will be for later (a little bit too long for a 2 year old), but I highly recommend them, for all families, regardless of the make-up of your family.

All The Colors We Are (bonus that it's a bilingual book) by Katie Kissinger
The Skin You Live In (Ali LOVES this one) by Michael Tyler
Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester