• Home
  • About Diedre
    • Contact Me
    • Featured On
    • Privacy Policy
  • Curly Hair Care
  • Motherhood
  • Marriage
  • Parenting
  • Postpartum Doula Services

Are Those Your Kids

Raising Biracial Kids in Today's World

Parenting

Why I’ll Cry If My Kids Say They Don’t See Skin Color

June 6, 2018 Leave a Comment

 

“It doesn’t matter what color you are, we’re all the same.”

“I don’t see skin color.”

While people may have good intentions when they say things like this, what they don’t realize is that these statements can be damaging.

I’m a black mom raising biracial kids. When my kids look at me, it’s obvious that we are different. We share similar features and both share a shade of brown, but it’s obvious to them that they are a mixture of mom and dad.

My kids noticed pretty early on (totally on their own) that we have similarities and differences.

Appreciating differences can be normal if you teach your kids that race is just a description. When our children bring up skin color differences, we can use those moments to teach them important lessons .

In fact, my youngest daughter makes (almost daily) observations about our family. She often asks me questions about my hair, body (all the fun private body part questions) and why I do things the way I do.

If I were to answer her questions with “we’re all the same” I think she would be utterly confused.

Why do we associate differences with negativity?

What would happen if we just appreciated differences for what they are instead of being ashamed of noticing them?

Education

When children notice differences, our response seems to be to redirect them to what we have in common.

Why don’t we use those natural observations to our advantage and teach our kids about the world?

Take these observations and turn them into teachable moments.

Confidence

I am not biracial, so there will be some experiences that my children have that I cannot relate to.

However, as a minority, I can offer them advice based on my own experiences. I can teach them to be confident in the skin they are in.

Appreciating differences can be normal if you teach your kids that race is just a description. When our children bring up skin color differences, we can use those moments to teach them important lessons .

It’s Who We Are

If we tell our children that we are all the same, one day they will discover that we are not. And then what?

Growing up a military base, differences were intriguing. I loved learning about a new place from my peers’ travels. We often ate ethnic foods at each other’s homes and it was just as exciting as watching a new movie.

I learned to appreciate differences because it was normal.

Appreciating differences can be normal if you teach your kids that race is just a description. Noticing that a peer has a different skin color is just one simple way to describe their appearance, but it doesn’t make up all of who that person is.

Appreciating differences can be normal if you teach your kids that race is just a description. When our children bring up skin color differences, we can use those moments to teach them important lessons .

And in a day and age of some much racism and bias based on skin color, it’s important to me that children to learn that there are good and bad people of every race.

When people say, “I don’t see color” they may be afraid of what will happen if they do. Sometimes seeing someone’s color opens our eyes and makes us more culturally aware. It can make us sensitive to their needs, even if their experiences aren’t ours.

Appreciating differences can be normal if you teach your kids that race is just a description. When our children bring up skin color differences, we can use those moments to teach them important lessons .

How will that change the way you think about me if I am different from you? What does that mean?

I want my children to see skin color. I want them to learn that people have different religions, customs, skin color & languages that set us apart. These differences are to be celebrated!

Previous:
These 4 Bad Habits Are Slowly Killing Your Marriage
Next:
The Impact Loving Day Has Had On My Multiracial Family

You might also enjoy

Multiracial families are often suseptible to others biases based on their physical appearance. There is so much more to us than meets the eye.3 Common Misconceptions About Multiracial Families
Peer pressure makes kids act out of characterWelcome to Middle School: What They Don’t Tell You at Open House
Having a daughter is a beautiful, wonderful blessing. Here are 5 lessons that your daughters need you to teach them today and everyday.5 Lessons Your Daughters Need You to Teach Them

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me

ABOUT ME

When I became a mother, I searched for resources about raising biracial/multicultural children and found very few. And when I say little, I mean a minuscule amount. So, I decided to be the resource that I was looking for in hopes of helping moms like myself.

Categories

Featured On

Being a mom is one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, but so is having a side hustle and working full time. Here are a few tips to do it all!

 

Are those your kids FB group

Popular Posts

Parenting biracial daughters comes with a unique set of challenges. People often question their identity based on their physical appearance.
Multiracial families are often suseptible to others biases based on their physical appearance. There is so much more to us than meets the eye.
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed with the ID 1 found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Design by SkyandStars.co

Copyright © 2025