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I do not think kids have any clue on "race". If they like a kid; their interests are common then they tend to be together.
I am of Indian origin; my 4 year goes to preschool. She is the only kid of Indian origin; and never has she found any issues wrt race.
But to be quite honest; I have personally experienced it from certain parents. They never bother to smile or return a "hello"; I used to feel bad. There has been many such days that I thought about changing my kid's school; because of such attitudes that the parents showed. But I decided against it; now I am glad that I didn't pull her off as my kid is enjoying her school; and I have found parents who are pretty "cool".
I spend lots of time at my kids schools and what really surprises me is how little interaction there is between kids of different races. Of course in todays politically correct world few of the kids or their parents would admit that they don't have friends of a different race but the true reality is different. The kids divide up by race and country of origin and have very little to do with people that don't look like them. (With RARE exceptions of course and I expect many parents will respond to my post stating their kids have friends with kids of all races and cultures!)
Do you strongly encourage your kids to make friends with people of a different race? Do you think that is the role of a parent in today's world? Your thoughts.
Where we live, it would be nearly impossible for them not to be friends with those of another race. Plus, our kids will already be two races as my husband and I are of different races. Growing up, it also wasn't an issue. We were friends with kids who we liked and didn't figure race into it at all. I had friends who were all shades of white, Hispanic (sure they weren't all from the same background but never asked), Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Kenyan, and Pakistani.
I think noticing the colors and races of children naturally playing with their friends is weird. Racist even.
Yes -- sort of but sometimes certain things just stand out. For example I was in a southern state in a redneck kind of area and saw 6 kids who seemed to be friends. 3 white and kind of redneck looking, and 3 black, they came into a fast food restaurant, and sat at 2 booths because that's all there were and the 3 whites sat together, the 3 blacks sat together but they joked and talked together. It would be hard to really say if the way they sat had anything to do with race, I suspect not because they seemed to be a close group of buddies.
We live in an area of the Northeast that is almost 100 percent white. The diversity here is socio-economic. We have everything from wealthy transplants from NYC to families that have been on public assistance for generations and live in trailers or dilapidated farmhouses, along with everything in between.
We encourage our kids not to judge others by what they have/don't have. But, most of their closer friends are middle class like us, especially now that they are in their early teens. My dh and I have friends who are quite wealthy and friends of very modest means so my kids have grown up visiting and spending time with people who are different than them in this respect.
I grew up just outside of NYC and think that living in such a diverse area was advantageous. I learned about different cultures and religions just by hanging out with my friends, which was cool. If I was raising my children there I would let them choose their own friends, but hopefully, by seeing my husband and I interact with friends from different ethnic backgrounds they would feel comfortable doing the same.
I've never believed in teaching kids to be "colorblind." Humans come in many different colors and people of all cultures have made important contributions when it comes to art, science, and of course food and music. Why pretend we are all the same instead of appreciating each others' difference? Besides, unless a child has a vision problem they are going to notice that black/white/hispanic kids have different skin tones, hair, etc. So what.
Most posters insist that they don't tell their kids who to be friends with but also insist that their kids make lots of friends with children who are not the same race as them. Good for your kids but they are not the norm. People stick with their own kind in my experience. Maybe some pressure by parents would open them up to making friends who don't share their race, color or culture.
NO that's not what most people are saying. Most people say that they don't get involved in what race their kids friends are.
I spend lots of time at my kids schools and what really surprises me is how little interaction there is between kids of different races. Of course in todays politically correct world few of the kids or their parents would admit that they don't have friends of a different race but the true reality is different. The kids divide up by race and country of origin and have very little to do with people that don't look like them. (With RARE exceptions of course and I expect many parents will respond to my post stating their kids have friends with kids of all races and cultures!)
Do you strongly encourage your kids to make friends with people of a different race? Do you think that is the role of a parent in today's world? Your thoughts.
I always let my children choose their own friends but they mirrored the diversity that myself and my husband showed in choosing our friends. I just never had a "profile" for a potential friend and neither do they. My kids are great and show no prejudice. My older son is in a mixed race/cultural marriage and has friends of every belief, culture, etc. and travels with military extensively and I don't feel he could have pulled this off otherwise. Prejudice never computed for us but we face it straight on.
My kids have friends of different races, I don't encourage or discourage, we don't make an issue of it either way. If you push it, that's when they realize something is different, kids don't make judgements on race without adult input.
They like who they like and color doesn't interfere with their desicion, unless they've LEARNED otherwise.
I think an infamous traveler is just about finished with his study of the human race and will be sending his research back to the mother ship shortly.
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