Anti-bias books: Key to raising a racially sensitive child
Guest post by Chloe Shaw
Recently I was babysitting a five-year-old girl. We were coloring in her coloring book with those bright scented Mr. Sketch markers when she turned the page and asked me to color in the girl on the new page. I picked up the brown “cinnamon” scented marker and began carefully coloring inside the lines of the girl’s face. Abruptly, she stopped me and said, “Stop! Don’t color her skin like that. That isn’t pretty.” She handed me a pinkish-pale color and instructed me to color her with this marker instead. This exchange shocked me and I had no idea how to respond. I was completely speechless. I couldn’t believe that a five-year-old had developed such a prejudice, and at such a young age.
Unfortunately, these types of stories are all too common. Children begin developing biases at a shockingly young age. In fact, noticing race is quite natural and actually begins during infancy. However, attaching negative perceptions to race is not instinctive and is a consequence of our environment and culture. Children’s brains are constantly taking in information and learning. They are extremely attentive and quickly absorb the cultural values—either implicit or explicit—that they see and hear. Decades of research has demonstrated that between ages 2 and 5, children become aware of gender, culture, ethnicity, family differences, disabilities, and economic class. As children become aware of these aspects of identity, they also become increasingly sensitive and attuned to the positive or negative biases attached to these identities.
Since environment has such a profound impact on the development of children’s perceptions of others, naturally the literature that children are exposed to is an instrumental source of information. Studies have shown that the visual and verbal messages that children absorb from books heavily influence both their ideas about themselves and others. Depending on the book, its story can either reinforce or diminish children’s self-concept, teach accurate or misleading information about others, and promote positive or negative attitudes about diversity. Consequently, children’s literature is an incredibly valuable opportunity to help prevent the development of prejudice.
In light of this research, during my spring quarter at Seattle University (where I’m completing my Masters in School Counseling,) I undertook a project in which I created an online database of inclusive children’s literature. This project was meaningful for me to complete because as a nanny who enjoys reading to children, I often find that the books that I read showcase one type of character: white, cisgender, able-bodied, middle/upper class protagonists with two heterosexual parents.
As such, I wanted to create a comprehensive database of books that have characters who come from diverse backgrounds. In the database, you will find a wide variety of stories with people of color, stories about children with dyslexia and autism, children who have two moms, children who have two dads, interracial families, stories about black history and the holocaust, children who are transgender, families who have immigrated to the U.S., and a story about the first African-American female pilot, to name a few.
Beyond the database that I created, I have complied a list of tips for selecting anti-bias children’s books. It is my ultimate hope and dream that reading these stories to children and discussing their messages with them will help to combat the development of stereotypes and prejudice.
Happy reading!