Parents: Do you strongly encourage your kids to make friends with people of a different race? (girls, playing)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why I find it all nice and good that YOUR KIDS are open to friendships of all races in in YOUR kids schools that race is not an issue and everyone of all races is friends with everyone studies have shown this is not the case in MOST CASES. So my question still stands.
FYI: I am an ethnic minorty who lives in an extremely diverse in MD, but grew up in a white town so I look at things differently.
I'm from Southern California. A kid who self-segregates, as you described, is going to be a pretty lonely kid. Is it so hard to believe that there are places where kids mix naturally? So do their parents, BTW. Lots of mixed race couples and mixed raced kids in So Cal. Lots. Nobody much cares.
I was truly blessed to have grown up in a military family. First 6 years in the Seattle, then we moved to Navy bases in Newport, R.I. and San Diego, CA. We lived in military housing for 10 years, and were surrounded by people of all races, colors and religions. I just assumed as a kid that everyone lived that way.
When I was about 8, I said 'the N' word', not really knowing what it meant or how hurtful it could be to someone. That was the day I got a bar of Ivory soap in my mouth - Dad is a big believer in Ivory soap washing away bad words from dirty mouths!
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.
No. I encourage him to be friends with other kids who are good kids, but race never has been a consideration. He's friends with whoever he's friends with. That's it.
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 don't choreograph who my children should befriend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Very Curious
FYI: I am an ethnic minorty who lives in an extremely diverse in MD, but grew up in a white town so I look at things differently.
Differently to whom? You know nothing about posters here.
Why I find it all nice and good that YOUR KIDS are open to friendships of all races in in YOUR kids schools that race is not an issue and everyone of all races is friends with everyone studies have shown this is not the case in MOST CASES. So my question still stands.
FYI: I am an ethnic minorty who lives in an extremely diverse in MD, but grew up in a white town so I look at things differently.
But we can only answer for our kids. We can't answer for everyone else.
We live in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. There are many races here. There is even diversity within races. Blacks born in the islands are different from American born blacks. There are people here from every Spanish speaking country you can imagine. They are not all the same. Within the white community there are people of different ethnicities as well. There are fewer Asians and Indians in this area but there are some. It would be hard not to have at least a few friends who have a different background if you lived here.
I do not encourage my kids to make friends with ides of a different race. I do not discourage my kids from making friends with kids of a different race. The only reason I would interfere in my kids friendships is if I thought they were involved with kids who would influence them negatively. Race is not the issue. I have had to speak with my sons about how the police perceive young black men and to be aware when they go out with their black friends.
This. The responses you receive, OP, could be based on elem, middle or high school with children ranging from 4-18 years. I would think age group would be important to you in order to properly frame your question, e.g., seeing as how I've never seen 1st graders segregate themselves by race.
What age of children are you speaking of? Where do you live?
No, they should pick whoever it is they want to be friends with. But it wouldn't bother me if my children chose only white friends. People tend to stay with their own kinds anyway. However, there are a lot of blacks in my town, some of them are friends with whites but most of the white and blacks tend to stick with their own racial group. The same goes for Asians, though there are only a relative few here.
On the other hand, my wife and I will most likely be moving soon to another location up north either in Northern FL or to TN, Alabama or GA. I don't know how things would be up there.
Nope and Nope. Its not my role to force my kids to make friends of people of other races. We live in a VERY white area so all their friends are white. Its fine with me and I don't care if someone doesn't like it.
No, I encourage my kids to make friends with people who are nice to them. Of course I do not discourage them to make friends with those of other races, but IMO it is best to be friends with people who have good personalities, not whomever happens to have a different race than you.
Hence my user name, when white people say they are looking to live in a town with "Good Schools" that pretty much translates to they are looking to live away from undesirable minorities.
With that said, I live in an urban suburb and there are lots of latinos, blacks, indians, and asians. My kids who are mixed white and spanish ARE the diversity most whites avoid at all costs.
I am white btw, wifey is Latino
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.