Children notice race several years before adults want to talk about it
Lack of knowledge about children's development contributes to delay,
study finds

Date:
August 27, 2020
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
Adults in the United States believe children should be almost
5 years old before talking with them about race, even though
some infants are aware of race and preschoolers may have already
developed racist beliefs, according to new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Adults in the United States believe children should be almost 5 years old before talking with them about race, even though some infants are aware of
race and preschoolers may have already developed racist beliefs, according
to new research published by the American Psychological Association.


========================================================================== Delays in these important conversations could make it more difficult to
change children's misperceptions or racist beliefs, said study co-author Jessica Sullivan, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Skidmore College.

"Children are capable of thinking about all sorts of complex topics at
a very young age," she said. "Even if adults don't talk to kids about
race, children will work to make sense of their world and will come up
with their own ideas, which may be inaccurate or detrimental." In an
online study with a nationally representative sample, more than 600 participants were asked the earliest age at which they would talk with
children about race. They were also asked when they thought children
first develop behaviors and cognitive abilities relating to race and
other social factors.

More than half of the participants were parents while 40% were people
of color.

The research was published online in the Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General.

The participants believed conversations about race should begin near a
child's fifth birthday even though children begin to be aware of race
when they are infants. Previous research has shown that 3-month-old
babies prefer faces from certain racial groups, 9-month-olds use race
to categorize faces, and 3-year- old children in the U.S. associate
some racial groups with negative traits. By age 4, children in the
U.S. associate whites with wealth and higher status, and race-based discrimination is already widespread when children start elementary
school.

Participants who believed children's capacities to process race developed
later also believed conversations about race should occur later. The researchers were surprised that the participants' race did not affect
the age at which they were willing to talk with children about race. The participants' parental status, gender, education level, or experience
with children also didn't have any bearing on the findings.

Another online experiment in the study found that when participants
learned about children's developmental abilities relating to race,
they said adults should start talking about it when children are 4
years old. This was approximately a year earlier than in the previous experiment.

Many white parents often use well-meaning but ineffective strategies
that ignore the realities of racism in the United States, said study
co-author Leigh Wilton, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at
Skidmore College. Some harmful approaches include a colorblind strategy
(e.g., telling children "Skin color doesn't matter," or "We're all the
same on the inside") or refusing to discuss it (e.g., "It's not polite
to talk about that").

The study didn't address exactly when or how adults should talk with
children about race, but Wilton said this can begin early.

"Even if it's a difficult topic, it's important to talk with children
about race, because it can be difficult to undo racial bias once it
takes root," she said. "Toddlers can't do calculus, but that doesn't
mean we don't teach them to count. You can have a conversation with a
toddler about race that is meaningful to them on their level." Parents, especially white parents, need to become comfortable talking about race or
it will only get more difficult as their children get older, Wilton said.

"If we wait until a child is old enough to ask a tough question about
the history of racial violence, then it will be that much harder to
talk about if there haven't been any meaningful discussions about race
earlier in their lives."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Psychological_Association. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jessica Sullivan, Leigh Wilton, Evan P. Apfelbaum. Adults delay
conversations about race because they underestimate children's
processing of race.. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
2020; DOI: 10.1037/xge0000851 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200827150954.htm

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