Racism and discrimination can be a tough subject to talk about, especially for parents and kids. Dr. Emily Mudd, a child psychologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, recommends asking kids what they’ve seen and letting them lead the conversation.
“They could be scared, angry, frustrated, mad,” Mudd told Michigan News Network. “It’s really important that parents leave space for their children to have these feelings. We want to open that dialogue with them, we want to be able to validate how they’re feeling, and provide comfort for them because what we don’t want is for children to be navigating this on their own.”
Mudd says children are very intuitive and will ask questions, and she advises parents to try answering to the best of their knowledge. If you don’t know the answer, be honest about it, and look it up so you can learn together.
