Dismantling Bias in Children
Dismantling Bias in Children
If a young child asks why birds can fly, we are more than happy to provide an age-appropriate mini science lesson on feathers, wings, and aerodynamics. But when children ask about race, they are often shushed or ignored completely. Why is this? We, as a society, have been conditioned to not discuss certain aspects of the human experience, namely our differences. Through our silence, we teach children that discussing race is inappropriate, and in doing so, entire communities of people become invisible.
Babies are learning faster than we ever imagined, forming thoughts, opinions, and biases before they are even able to walk and talk. As an occupational therapist working in the NICU, I can attest to the fact that babies are looking around, learning, and exploring their world from the day they are born. Toddlers are incredibly curious. This is the time to begin teaching these important concepts.
Most parents believe that their children do not notice differences in skin color, therefore they avoid discussing racial differences with their children until they are at least ten-years-old, long after racial biases take hold and inform children’s judgements and interactions. Researchers are starting to discover just how early babies learn about race and form their own racial identity–and the data is shocking.
Three-month-old babies show a significant preference for faces of their own ethnic group. Babies notice differences in skin color at six months of age. A study found that nine-month-old babies associate happy music with faces from their own race and sad music with faces of other races. Is this the beginning of bias? Early childhood experts believe that it is. What is to be done?
If we act while children are young, we can make meaningful changes that last a lifetime. Researchers have found that simply exposing babies to faces of different races is effective in reducing preference bias in children.
When children’s experiences, games, books, media, and toys represent people of different ethnicities and cultures, they learn valuable lessons about diversity and inclusion.
In addition to these experiences, it’s essential that we provide children with age-appropriate language to discuss these concepts. When a child asks why someone’s skin is brown, that is the time to explain in a developmentally-appropriate way, so that the child understands. Refusing to discuss these concepts sends children confusing messages and may affect their own racial identity, which also develops earlier than many people think.
Preschoolers observe who society privileges and does not privilege, and they internalize these messages, making assumptions about where they fit in the greater scheme of things in society. By age two, children are absorbing socially prevailing stereotypes, attitudes, and biases about themselves and others who are different. It is important to talk to children about how they feel about this.
Children of all races and ethnicities need to see themselves represented in books, games, media, and toys at home and in the classroom to know that they belong and are accepted in their community. When books representing all children are removed from their world, children are subject to societal messages that affect how they feel about themselves, resulting in internalized oppression in some and superiority in others.
Providing diverse experiences, talking about race, encouraging critical thinking, and asking children’s perspectives goes a long way in building a strong racial identity and dismantling bias before it solidifies into racism.
By Dr. Aimee Ketchum
