Will you talk to your kids about racism?

It is good to discuss realistic expectations of life with our kids so they know how to respond positively when they experience these events . It helps build confidence and self acceptance .

living in the south in america yeah it’s definitely a conversation you have to have

Yep, we will. Tbh we kinda already do. I love the little people big dreams book and I bought my LG who is now 9M, Rosa Parks (and others as well, about LBGTQ and feminism etc). Which we read sometimes. So even though I don't sit down and talk to her about it (which will be hard as she is 9M) we do in a way talk about it.
I don't shy away from any topic to have with her.
Also, I know at some point in life she will experience it and I want her to be prepared for that, so she knows it's not her who's done something wrong

What do you even say. Not even sure.

Funny thing is, the racism used to be so bad and obvious back in the day in Europe. You couldn’t escape it even as a kid lol. Europe is the birth place of racism. But I still survived. Where I live now (England) is pretty chill, not as bad and people are becoming more educated.

Not even sure how to navigate it.

ooo thanks for the recommendation of the book, will definitely look into it!!

I have when they have encountered it with their friends or strangers but otherwise no.

I feel like even in england it is something that needs be talked about, like race as a whole not just racism but its still a massive factor in life and will be in our children's so obviously age appropriate conversations but deffo need to be having them. Xx

For me and my kids it's something that I have touched base on as part of life but not gone into too much as I feel quite strongly about not sharing stories and experiences that may affect their way of thinking/ development / outlook on life etc. However, when the conversation needs to be had because something has happened or been said then I speak on it further.

Absolutely 💯 bc I've experienced it, so they will know how to deal with it.

Absolutely. It will be an ongoing conversation and process. It is important to set our children up with realistic expectations and tools to deal with what life will really be like. I have no advice, as I am currently pregnant, but it will for sure be something she grows up with in developmentally appropriate chucks.

especially in England. As an example primary school result of black boys drop significantly when they get older.
So they start the same as their white peers and then it drops with huge percentages by the time they've reached year 6.
There is still so much systemic and 'unconscious' racism in this country.

there is racism in this country but not as bad as other places. I promise you Belgium In 2010 was not for the weak🤣🤣🤣 idk if it’s better now but I doubt it.

My mom said back then, if you’re not white white forget it. Job? Forget it? Wanna shop in a nice store? Forget it? Wanna eat in a nice restaurant, forget it? Need the police? Hahaha forget it

Obviously, I'm not black so I personally haven't experienced racism but I definitely think you're underestimating the systemic racism in this country.
I've seen it time and time again.
Me myself, I'm from the NL and actually grew up close to Belgium and I can't say that I've noticed racism to be worse over there then over here.
But then again, I'm not black.
What I do know is that there is a lot of silence racism in the UK, hence why you might think it isn't as bad in this country as in other countries.

@Daphne please don't take offence to this as I don't mean it in a horrible way but as a non-poc you can't really tell someone where the racism is geographically rife as racism is a lived experience. You also don't have to be black to experience racism, just simply a poc. You are totally right though about silent racism and more education is needed on covert racism, just as much as overt 😊 I don't share my own experiences with my children as their my experiences not theirs and feel conscious about the way they intetpret the world as poc. Whilst I think silent racism is a killer, I also feel it is upto the person how they interpret it as I've seen some people get massively offended and some people didn't even notice the racism - this is why I tend to talk about it as "whole" to my kids until something specific happens if that makes sense!

🧘‍♀️ I get what you're saying. I just meant it more in a way as, don't underestimate in this country.
Like I've had it in this country where taxis wouldn't stop or we were denied entrance to places, because POC were with me. I've never had this in either Belgium or the NL.
So to say in the UK it isn't as bad as in other places in Europe, I think is downplaying how bad it is here. And that's the point I was making.

And I know you can experience racism by not being black, I'm just talking about my family. So I'm sorry about that, I didn't want to offend anyone with that.

I was being bullied for being black at 9. Told the school. Nothing happened. Got beat up, had to deal with on my own at 9/10. Moved to so many different schools. My mum who’s got 2 degrees found it hard getting a basic job. I remember one time she was outside of a store looking in and the staff were giving her dirty looks. My lunch kept on being taken and made fun on. All of this before even seen my teen years.

I’ve never had any taxi refuse to take me anywhere or Deny entry in the U.K. everyone experience is different.

When I moved to London I was so shocked to not only see so many other races… people were so nice. I felt safe.

Thats what I mean.😀i know racism exists nearly everywhere. Silent racism unfortunately is better than the big brutal ones in other countries. I’ve experienced both 😀

Maybe I don’t see it as “that bad” because I’ve seen the nasty side of it and just had to deal with it.

I understand your point and I 100% agree. Just wanted to explain ❤️

@Daphne totally hear you 😊 I actually think it's quite bad in America 🙈 my husband got stopped twice in LA and he wasn't even doing anything wrong! He's been stopped in UK too but big difference being he doesn't get scared he's going to get shot! Having said that, I haven't lived in enough countries to compare, only UK & US. Personally I think its embedded everywhere!

omg I lived in America too (for 3 years, I know I have lived everywhere) and omg I have never been scared to run into the police. I also lived in Texas hahaha and omg sooo different.

He was very scared too, as was I. The fact that he kept his hands on the wheel the entire time said it all. I'm an American citizen and would love to live there again, however, I'd never want my husband and children to feel a way about their safety! I've experienced a lot of my racism myself but it's a different kind of racism, I've never been scared of getting stopped or denied entry so it's completely different.

@Darcy 🧘‍♀️ yeh my husband was followed and stopped here in his own street, because it isn't an area where the police thought he should be. So bad. Really pisses me off

OP, I really don't want to underestimate what you've been through!
It sounds very hard and I'm very sorry to hear.
It's just shit!

Yeah I totally get you @Daphne it's wrong regardless of what country you are in. The other lady is totally right though in saying all experiences are different etc. My husband has never been denied entry anywhere either so everyone's opinion is going to be different based on their own experiences. I personally think as a mixed race person with mixed race kids, that will bring about a type of racism you can't even make up!! This is where they need strong mothers to help guide the way and embrace their beautiful identity ❤️

totally agree with you, I almost expect taxis not to stop because it happens so much I’ve ended up using Uber on my husbands account (he is white) and I’ve never had a problem since 😅

@Swalha I'm.sorry to hear this x