"I played with the white guy," said our 3-year-old
Our 3-year-old is our shy guy. He has a heart of gold, but he's cautious of other people. My husband and I have been working with him to still be kind and friendly to others even if he's bashful. He doesn't have to be super outgoing, but it's important he learn how to meet people. He spends a lot of time with mom and dad, and we don't want the change to shock him when he's surrounded by new faces next year at preschool.
One day recently when I came home from work, my husband was standing in the kitchen with a smirk on his face. He said to me, "so this was interesting." He goes on to tell me that he picked Jack up from the gym daycare and my husband asked our son, "did you introduce yourself to anyone or play with anyone today?" Jack looked at him and said, "yes, I played with the white guy."
My husband was a bit taken aback. He then followed Jack's finger pointing to a boy, the only African American boy in the room who happened to be wearing a white t-shirt.
After that day we've noticed that Jack describes all people based on the color of their clothing. Side note: We're working with him to say, "the boy wearing the blue/white/green/red shirt."
But in that moment, his innocence hit me. I also became acutely aware that what we teach our children about race, gender, religion, sexual orientation is their foundation. Of course, I've known that, but this interaction magnified it for me.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a child observing differences in people. More conversations, I'm sure, will come. And I hope when they do I'll have the answers that teach my children to be loving and inclusive.
One day recently when I came home from work, my husband was standing in the kitchen with a smirk on his face. He said to me, "so this was interesting." He goes on to tell me that he picked Jack up from the gym daycare and my husband asked our son, "did you introduce yourself to anyone or play with anyone today?" Jack looked at him and said, "yes, I played with the white guy."
My husband was a bit taken aback. He then followed Jack's finger pointing to a boy, the only African American boy in the room who happened to be wearing a white t-shirt.
After that day we've noticed that Jack describes all people based on the color of their clothing. Side note: We're working with him to say, "the boy wearing the blue/white/green/red shirt."
But in that moment, his innocence hit me. I also became acutely aware that what we teach our children about race, gender, religion, sexual orientation is their foundation. Of course, I've known that, but this interaction magnified it for me.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a child observing differences in people. More conversations, I'm sure, will come. And I hope when they do I'll have the answers that teach my children to be loving and inclusive.
