There have been many moments when I have paused and realised how truly grateful I am that our children have been raised in the love of foreign shores. And the past two weeks have been no different. 

I don’t feel it is my place to discuss race relations, I honestly don’t feel I’m qualified. I grew up in one of the most mono culture environments possible, where people didn’t even sound different, let alone look different. 

But at the same time, if we as parents don’t start having conversations with our children about the differences between people, then how can we expect the future to be any different from today?

Our daughters don’t see skin colour, they don’t see the shape of someone’s face, and they don’t hear different sounds in people’s voices.  

They do know however that they are fortunate, that they have privileges that other children don’t experience, and that it is important to acknowledge what we are grateful for every day. They also understand that people have different belief systems and they they follow different festivals, to them it means we can join any party!

This is not a product of my awesome parenting… Ha! This is purely a product of their life so far. Being born in India, and raised in Asia, naturally they assimilate and adapt to whomever they are with at any particular time.

So this past week, I have been reflecting on what I can do as a parent, to be a little more deliberate in the space of race and difference. 

Here’s a few resources I have found that I am going to start using, and I wanted to share them with you because maybe you are exploring this space too? 

What is important is that we as parents start the conversations now. Start supporting our children to understand that differences are to be celebrated, not feared. That through diversity we discover creativity. That we all have something different to contribute to our world. Our kids won’t learn this by osmosis, but through deliberate thought and discussion. 

My personal favourite picture book about differences is by Mem Fox, Whoever You Are. But I have also found other resources this week. 

Here is some great advice from Dr Laura Anderson, specifically for white parents raising kids of colour.

I often use Common Sense Media, it’s a great place to find ratings and reviews. Here they have categorised resources – Black history movies that tackle racism; Resources about race and racism; How to talk to kids about racism and violence.

We have loved Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls for a few years now. And currently they are focusing on elevating the stories of black women who have changed the world, starting with Michelle Obama.

I subscribe to Mighty Girls, there’s always something interesting in their newsletter, and the latest is no different with the following topics covered – 60 Picture Books starting black mighty girls; 50 books about the civil rights movement; 30 books about inspiring women for black history month.

Epic is an eBook service, you can try it free for 30 days, they have put together a collection to Celebrate Black Culture, and in addition, some books to start the race conversations.

What resources do you use to talk about race and differences? Please do share, I would love to hear from you!