“Will talking about race make my child racist?” dispelling myths to encourage honest white U.S. parent-child conversations about race and racism

Abstract

Racism continues to permeate the United States' society, today. Though many White parents in the U.S. believe that racism continues to exist, it can be difficult for them to talk about race honestly with their White children. In this review, we identify three myths that egalitarian-minded White American parents use as reasons to avoid honest parent-child discussions of race and racism: 1) talking about race will make their White children racist, 2) White children are too young to talk about racism, and 3) race and racism are irrelevant to White children's lives. In this review, we discuss why these myths are false and present suggestions for how White parents can honestly discuss race and racism with their children.