You Can Help Your Child Resist Bias* (PreK)

Between the ages of two and five, children become aware of gender, race, and physical disabilities. They notice the differences. They also form values about which differences are “good” and which are not. They get those beliefs and values from us.

Answer questions. Adults are sometimes uncomfortable talking about differences. We avoid answering our children’s questions. We teach them it is not polite to notice differences or to ask about them.

When we do this, we fail to give children information they need. Without meaning to, we can teach them that some differences are “bad.” For example, what if your child asks, “Why is that girl in a wheelchair?” Your first thought might be to say, “Shh! It’s not nice to ask.” This might make your child think that being in a wheelchair is shameful. Here is a better answer: “She is using a wheelchair because her legs are not strong enough for her to walk. The chair helps her get around.”

Give facts. Another question some children might ask is “Why is his skin so dark?” If you say, “It doesn’t matter. We are all the same on the inside,” you are not giving an answer. Your child might think there must be something bad about the skin color since you are avoiding the question. Instead, you could say, “We all have something called melanin in our skin that determines how dark we are.” Explain that many of us have ancestors from Africa or South America, where people have more melanin (sounds like “melon in”) to protect their skin from the hotter sun there.

You can teach your child to accept differences as a normal part of life.

*This activity is from Family Connections Pre-K, a series of learning guides created by Edvantia. To learn more about these guides, follow this link.

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