How to Help Interracial Children Deal With Bigotry

It is difficult to see your child hurt by insensitive behavior. Parents in an interracial family often must help their children deal with racism and bigotry. There are more than 700,000 interracial families in America today. Although it has become much more commonly accepted there is still a fair amount of bigotry for them to overcome.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Embrace both of the family's cultural heritages. Teach the children about both races history and cultures. Celebrate both heritages. Family members may sometimes find themselves victims of racism in society, but it should not be allowed to be part of your family life.
2. Educate yourself on diverse cultures. Use this knowledge to give the children awareness and appreciation for differences among races and cultures.
3. Acknowledge that bigotry exists. Talk about it with the children so they are prepared when they are faced with it in the world. Pretending that racism does not exist will not make it go away.
4. Foster self confidence in your children. The more confidence they have in themselves the less affected they will be when they encounter bigotry.
5. Join a support group for interracial families if they exist where you live. Interracial support groups exist in many cities throughout the country. If there is not one in your area, consider starting one. Through support groups members of interracial families can support each other and lean ways to deal positively with racism.
6. Get professional counseling for the children if they are having a difficult time dealing with bigotry. Choose a counselor that has experience in interracial and multicultural affairs.