Talking With Children About Race: 10 Tips For White Parents

Conversations with William James College

Research has found that conversations about race lessen the presence of prejudice and bias, but these conversations are much less likely to occur in white families than they are in families of color. Children are keen observers. As they grow, in the absence of conversations with people they trust, children make sense of what they see in the world around them in ways that justify inequities. They also start to internalize stereotypes and prejudices, even if they live in homes where these views are not promoted. As they get older, these internalized observations become hard-to-change implicit biases. In this special addition to the "Advice for Parents" series, Dr. Elana Wolkoff, associate professor of School Psychology at William James College, presents information for white parents and adults on how to talk with, and listen to, children and adolescents about race and discrimination. We have a lot of work to do to counter racism in our society, she says, but it won’t get done if we’re not able to talk about it.