Tag Archives: what to do next

I never thought I would have this conversation with my 4 year-old twins. My girls see people as chocolate and vanilla (their favorite ice cream flavors); they focus on conversation starters like “why do I have fingers?” and my response is so you can hold things, write, so on and so forth. My girls’ response is “so they can wear fingernail polish” and then I am asked, “why do we have feet?” I say walk, stand, etc., and their response was “so you can paint your toenails” and then I am asked what do girls need, I say food,shelter, and protection, and they say “make-up”. Clearly, I do not know what girls want, lol, nor do they want to hear about the reality of the world. I did not anticipate having the conversation about the color of their skin and the impact on society for at least another 6 years. Parents of all races are facing questions such as “what do I do next?” I have to give credit to this Caucasian woman, in a recent community zoom call, who said, “I am going to control what I can control, and focus on how my children see the world.” I am not necessarily a front line person, but I feel like my kids would want to know where their Dad stood during this historical moment. For that reason, I will do the same, and help my kids see the world through the lens of all people being equal, but understanding that others may treat them differently because of the color of their skin. What are you going to do to impact positive change? When is the right time to start talking to your kids about race?