HELP FOR THE FAMILY | RAISING CHILDREN
How You Can Talk to Your Children About Racism
Your child small, but he can still see how some people can treat others bad because they get different skin color or they come from different country. How you can help your child to avoid this attitude, even though other people doing it? Wetin you can do if people treat your child bad because he different?
This article will talk about
How to talk with your children about people from different background
How you can explain it. Human being different from each other, and all over the world we get different-different culture and tradition. That this differences na make some people, to start treating other people bad because of the way they look or do things.
But the Bible help us to see that, all of us coming from the same parent—Adam and Eve. This one mean, all of us related.
Acts 17:26 say, “[God] made out of one man every nation of men.”
Karen say; “We find out that when our children started making friends with people from different background and skin color, they could see for their self that, we need to show love and respect to everybody.”
How you can explain racism to children
Before you know it, your child will start hearing stories in the news about people who treating other people bad because of their skin color or background. How you can explain this kindna thing to your child? You can use different-different ways to explain it depending on your child age.
Small Children. Dr. Allison say, “Small children quick to know whether you treating them good or bad” Briscoe-Smith say something in the Parents magazine. He say, “This one can give you the opportunity to talk with children about injustice.”
Acts 10:34,35 say, “God is not partial, but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Children. Children that between the age of 6 to 12 years like to know everything, and sometime they can ask hard-hard question dem. Do your best to answer them the right way. Talk with your children about the thing dem they can see in school, on TV and on the internet. And use this opportunity to explain to them that, it not good to hate people just because of their skin color and background.
1 Peter 3:8 say, “Have unity of mind, fellow feeling, brotherly affection, tender compassion, and humility.”
Young People. When children reach this age in life, they able to understand things that was hard for them to understand before. So, when your child reach this age, that the right time for yor to talk. Yor can talk about the story dem on the news, that talking about some people who showing hatred for people who get different skin color or background.
“Mature people . . . have their powers of discernment trained to distinguish both right and wrong.”—Hebrews 5:14.
Tanya say: “We can talk with our children about this hatred for people who get different background or skin color. Because we know that no matter where they live, one day they will see it happening or it will happen to them. If you the parent not explain it to them, they will learn it from outside. And outside there plenty of the thing dem people can tell our children that so-so lie. But they can make the children to feel that, that true”
How to set the example
Children can learn by example, so it is important for you the parent to be careful with what you say and do. For example:
You can make fun out people from different background or even cuss them? The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry say: “Your children looking at you and listening to you, and that your behavior they will follow.”
You can enjoy being with people from different-different places around the world? One children doctor they call Alanna Nzoma say: “If you want your children to . . . be friendly with other people from different backgrounds, they must see you doing the same thing.”
“Honor men of all sorts.”—1 Peter 2:17.
Katarina say, “For some years now our family been allowing different-different people from around the world to come stop with us in our house. We really got to know them, we learned about their food, their music and even wear their traditional cloth dem. When we talking with our children, we can talk about people, but not about their background or skin color. And we can avoid boasting about our culture.”
What if somebody treating your child bad because he different
Even though people talking about how everybody suppose to be treated equal, but still racism happening all over. This one mean that maybe one day somebody will treat your child bad. Especially when you coming from background where the people not plenty. If it happen like that . . .
Find out the truth. The person really mean it to treat your child like that or that was mistake? (James 3:2) You need to lay the person complain or that something you can just forget it?
It clear that you need to look at the matter good-good. The Bible give this wise advice: “Do not be quick to take offense.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9) Racism that not something to overlook. But that not every bad thing somebody say or do mean that they get hatred for us because we from different background.
Every situation different, so it good for you to find out what really happen before you can do anything.
“When anyone replies to a matter before he hears the facts, it is foolish and humiliating.”—Proverbs 18:13.
When you finish finding out what happen, think on this question:
‘What good it will do for my child if he feel that every small thing somebody say or do to him then that person that bad person?
‘What benefit my child will get if they follow this Bible advice: “Do not take to heart every word that people say”?’—Ecclesiastes 7:21.
“Let your reasonableness become known.”—Philippians 4:5.
What if the person mean it? Help your child to know that things can get better or worse depending on how he or she will react. Sometimes people who can make fun out of other people or treat them bad, can just want see what the person will do. In situation like that, the best thing to do that to not say or do anything.
“Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.”—Proverbs 26:20.
On the other hand, if it will be alright or safe for your child, they can meet and talk with the person that treating them bad. Maybe the child can say something like this in a friendly way, “I not really like the thing you say or do to me.”
What if you want report the problem? If you think that you child life in danger and you just have to do something about the problem, feel free to talk with the people that get the school or even carry the complaint to the police.