Art by @shirien.creates
As many of you who follow my work know, I live about 3 miles from the Minneapolis location where George Floyd was killed by a police officer last week.
The pain that the people of our city, and country, are experiencing has been a long time coming and the overwhelming question I’m asked is, “How do we talk to our kids about this?”
To be honest, the topics I am highly practiced and comfortable speaking about publicly such as mental health, seeing the gifts beneath a child’s special needs and the freedom to make your own unique healthcare choices roll off my tongue quickly.
But race and racialized violence are topics that I only began consciously pursuing in the past few years by reading articles, attending classes on white privilege, and having uncomfortable conversations to reveal (and correct) blindspots.
So, how DO we talk to our kids about race and racialized violence so they grow up in a world where every single human feels safe and loved?
Start by feeling the uncomfortable feelings of injustice. Explore what white privilege means and how it might be showing up in your life. Drop the defensive attitude. It’s ok to protect your kids from all the details but it’s not ok to stay silent.
When you, yourself, learn to communicate better it helps you create a language to use with your kids.
Here are three resource lists to help with your journey. (Note: the first one has two videos of breathing practices you can do with your kids to help them deal with trauma)
- Health and Healing For All (resource videos and list by 1000-petals.com)
- Anti-racism resources (compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020)
- Spark and Stitch Institute’s Resource List:
- Resources for Talking With Kids About Race, Racism, and Racialized Violence - Center for Racial Justice in Education
- Resources for Your Anti-Racist Practice - YWCA Minneapolis
- Helping Kids Cope With Tragedy - Spark & Stitch Institute
- How to Talk to Kids About Race and Disrupt Racism - The Conscious Kid
- 31 Children's Books To Support Conversations About Race, Racism, and Resistance - Embrace Race
- Discussing Traumatic Events With Youth - Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health
- Traumatic Experiences - Sesame Street Workshop in Communities
Stay connected, uncomfortable, and courageous,
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