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How to teach your children about racism

When it comes to teaching your kids about the wrongs of racism, perhaps finding yourselves in a packed tram carriage with a woman making xenophobic comments isn’t such a bad thing.
Because any children that witnessed Emma West’s now infamous diatribe against black and Polish passengers will be under no illusions about the nastiness of her behaviour.

It’s just a shame that the little boy on her lap will most likely grow up to share her views.

What the Croydon tram incident – now viewed by millions on YouTube - will have taught most parents is that, try as you might, you just can’t shelter your kids from reprehensible views.

You might live in a multi-cultural area, have friends and family from all backgrounds and visit far-flung destinations every summer but be it homophobia, sexism or racism, your child will surely encounter prejudice in some form sooner or later.

The key thing is to arm your kids with the knowledge and confidence to be able to suss out what’s right from what’s wrong.

Here are a few tips on how:

Acknowledge differences

From the age of three or four, children begin noticing differences between them and others and may start asking questions about people’s skin colour, for instance.

"Parents sometimes panic when they hear these questions, but children are naturally curious, and they're simply trying to learn," says Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard University.
Don’t make a big deal of their questions: simply explain that people come in all different colours, shapes and sizes and, although we may look different, we are all the same on the inside.

Consider your behaviour

Kids pick up on everything but don’t necessarily understand the subtleties in our behaviour. So even if you think you are beyond reproach, make sure you aren’t sending messages that will confuse your child.

Do you laugh when someone tells a culturally insensitive joke? Do you mimic other people’s accents to be funny? You may not intend to be racist but a child can get the wrong impression and copy what we say and do.

Talk about it

There are stereotypes everywhere – from the blonde princesses in the fairytales to the villains with foreign-sounding names. Without going over the top, casually point out negative stereotypes when you notice them and let your kids know they’re wrong.

Your child may even come out with generalisations themselves, such as ‘all the girls in my class are rubbish at football’ or ‘all the Asian kids are good at maths’. Tell them that just because some people behave in a certain way, it doesn’t mean that everybody of their gender or ethnicity is the same:

gently discourage generalisations, whether positive or negative.

Explore your family

Use your own family histories to teach your child about what a melting pot of cultures we all are. Even if there are no tales of exotic immigration and it’s just ‘Daddy’s Grandpa came from Wales’, you can still instil in them a sense that they are made up of lots of different cultures and ethnicities and that it is something to be proud of.

Try on someone else’s shoes…

If you hear your child or one of their friends criticise someone because of the colour of their skin, or any other ethnic difference, ask them how they would feel if people were mean simply because of the way they looked. Keep it simple –get them to empathise with how others might feel to be singled out.

Encourage a strong sense of identity

Children who are valued, respected and happy do not tend to be bigots: those who feel angry or frustrated will be more likely to single out others they deem different.

Similarly, building self-esteem is vital for kids who may be in the minority at school: if they want to know why they don’t look like their friends, teach them to be proud of their difference as something special.

Don’t tolerate any prejudice

Children can trade casual insults even if they have no idea of their meaning – take the recent fads for using ‘gay’ or ‘chav’ as terms of abuse. Never tolerate any prejudiced language: explain it is wrong to use such terms as insults and that everybody deserves equal respect. It is never OK to feel superior to any other group of people.

Similarly, when you overhear anyone else talking disparagingly about other races, make a point of explaining to your child that this is wrong – don’t let casual racism slip by. It’s important that they realise racism exists and have the wherewithal to counter it with their own opinions.

Go out and about

Soak up the cultures in your area by going to local celebrations such as the Diwali festival, Chinese New Year, St Patrick’s Day parade or Bengali Mela. Visit museums that specialise in minority ethnic histories or are staging exhibitions about different cultures.

Explore local communities, too – don’t just stick to your usual shops and routes around town, take a stroll through the Orthodox Jewish quarter, buy your weekly shop in the Turkish grocer’s or have lunch in the Pakistani café down the road.

You don’t need to make a big song and dance about diversity for the kids to soak up the message that a mix of cultures is enriching and exciting.

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/how-to-teach-your-children-about-racism.html