Talking about racial stereotypes

With Black Lives Matter still on everyone’s minds, many questions have come to the fore about how we can challenge racial stereotypes and help our children thrive, regardless of their race. As parents and communities become more reflective, here are some tips to help you and your little one identify and talk about race.

How do children learn racial bias?

Children learn about racial bias from a young age, often from their surroundings and the people they come into contact with. This could be at school or at home.

As early as 6 months, a baby’s brain can notice race-based differences.

Between ages 2 to 4, children can begin to internalise racial bias.

By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs and embedded in their views about racial stereotypes.

This is an important time to work to unpick these beliefs.

So what can I do?

Plenty! Including talking to your children about race and the existence of racial bias, confronting your own bias and encouraging kids to challenge the stereotypes and bias they see. You can also give your children access to lots of different types of role models and expose them to many people from different cultures from a young age.