Despite today's modern day and age, racist rhetoric tends to run rampant even in most developed societies. This may be attributed to parents in a sense that they don't engage with their children regarding such topics. To avoid conversing on racial diversity with a young one doesn't help within the domain of good parenting.
Studies have demonstrated that discussing racial diversity with kids as early as possible helps a growing child understand more about the world. According to Jillian Roberts, an educational psychologist, it's very important for Caucasian families to engage in these conversations because a Caucasian child might not be aware of what discrimination really is.
But can all of this be attributed to the households? Not a chance. The American political arena has recently been swarming with racist rhetoric with Trump speaking out against women, Muslims and Mexicans. What kind of effect might this have on the American youth?
It's so easy for kids to fall prey to this kind of racist rhetoric pervading all around the media. None other than parents could help them correct their beliefs and shape their understanding about the subject.
Parents should protect their children by instilling values they want them to have. According to Global News, various scientific studies have shown that children start noticing varying skin colors from the time they're only six months old.
PBS claims that parents often wait for children to grow old enough and reach the third grade before they engage their child with such topics. What they miss out on is that by the time a kid reaches grade three, the development window of his brain-wiring is already about to close and be relatively fixated.
By this age kids start categorizing things, all the while gravitating towards those things which resemble them most. When parents miss out on the opportunity of discussing racial differences with their child, research has shown that such children have a higher chance of discriminating against their peers having different colored skin.
