AAP encourages parents to proactively engage with children about racism
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The AAP recommended that parents proactively engage with children about racism, noting that even “vicarious” racism — like that experienced through social media, conversations and media images — could harm children’s health.
“The killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests across the country have laid bare the nation’s legacy of racism and discrimination and the ways it harms all members of our communities,” the AAP said in a news release.
The AAP published a policy statement last year titled, “Racism and Its Impact on Child and Adolescent Health,” in which it said it is “critically important” for the pediatric workforce to be engaged in addressing racism.
“Racism harms children’s health, starting from before they are born,” AAP President Sara Goza, MD, FAAP, said in a statement. “A growing body of research supports this, and we cannot ignore the impact.”
Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MSc, FAAP, chair of the AAP Section on Minority Health, Equity and Inclusion, said in a statement that parents “have to assume children of almost any age are hearing about what is happening in our nation today.”
“There is research that dates back at least a decade on racism, and specifically the impacts of racism on health,” Heard-Garris told Healio. “We anticipated what are the typical kind of reactions, experiences that children may have when exposed to racism, whether that's directly or through television, media or radio, so a lot of that knowledge, plus research, went into creating tips for parents.”
Heard-Garris and Jacqueline Dougé, MD, MPH, FAAP, medical director for the bureau of health services in the Howard County (Maryland) Health Department, wrote the following recommendations for parents when speaking to a child about racism:
- Check in with your child. Ask what they know, what they have seen, and how they are feeling. Validate their feelings and reassure them it is normal to feel emotions. You know your child best and what information they can handle. For younger children, you can tell them what you are doing to keep your family safe. For preteens and older children, you can ask if they have experienced mistreatment or racism or witnessed this happening.
- Watch for changes in your child’s behavior — some children may become more aggressive, while others will become withdrawn.
- Place limits on what your child sees in media. Do not leave the television on in the background. With older children and teens, watch with them and discuss what you are seeing. Listen to their observations and share your own. With younger children, limit their exposure to media, including television, smartphones or tablets, and make sure media exposure occurs in a common area where parents can check in.
- As an adult, tune into your own emotions and check that you are OK. If you are not, ask for help to deal with the trauma and emotional impact of these images.
- For all families, this is a teachable moment, when you can discuss the history of racism and discrimination in the United States and equip your children to make change.
- If you struggle to find the “right” words, consider using books or other resources to share with your child. You can share with your children that no one is perfect, talk about what you are doing to be anti-racist, what you have learned and how you as a family can step up.
“We were trying to make recommendations for parents that would be simple enough, but effective, because parents are already asked to do so much right now,” Heard-Garris said. “Obviously, we are in the middle of a pandemic. Parents are trying to juggle work and homeschooling and their home responsibilities all at the same time — add another huge thing that is affecting kids and affecting adults largely as well, and you're asking them to do a lot and many of our parents are utilizing all their coping skills and they're at their wit's end.”
Parents responsibilities are may change depending on a child’s age or their intellectual or cognitive capacity, Heard-Garris said.
“With respect to adolescents that are seeing some of these images or hearing about this stuff, I really encourage parents to have that conversation before they hear or see these images,” Heard-Garris said. “But if that is not possible, in a short amount of time after, I think parents should sit down and talk to their kids about what's going on in the world.” – by Ken Downey Jr.
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