Race plays a significant role in today’s society and how groups of people, including children, interact with each other and respond to the demands of life.
Professor of Education and Child Development Kay Sanders has dedicated most of her career researching how experiences with culture, race, and ethnicity influence children’s present and future social and emotional development. According to Sanders, “Traditionally, race socialization is the messages that parents typically give to children about race. Black parents have been studied the most when it comes to race socialization and ethnic socialization is a term that’s used when other families of color, other parents of color have been studies.”
Another form of race socialization is called cultural socialization, explains Sanders. This is when parents will expose their children to the positive traditions or cultural aspects of their racial or ethnic group.
Children are receiving messages about race, gender, age, and many other personal traits whether it’s intentional or not. In order for them to understand differences in race in a positive manner and the cultural nuances of people with different backgrounds, interactions should be intentional.
“It’s important to engage with children intentionally around this subject because in the United Sates, we live in a racialized society,” said Sanders. “As a parent, if you want to ensure your child is receiving message regarding race and prejudice, and understandings of people who are different from you and your family, being intentional around the subject of race becomes important.”
More: Test your knowledge of race socialization
For parents, it’s not just about what they say, but what they do. Exposing children to many cultures in a non-stereotypical manner will allow them to learn about people that are different from them. This will help them to grow up in an inclusive environment and, therefore, embrace these differences as they become young adults. Books, movies, and authentic social interactions are just a few examples of how children can be exposed to different races.
As a parent, Sanders’ research influenced the way she taught her daughter about different cultures and races. “She had a very multicultural library as a child,” said Sanders of her daughter. “We read a lot of different books. We spoke often about the world and about humanity and race, and the way people may harm other people for these arbitrary criteria that been set up. A lot of the books, even picture books, will deal with some of these issues, or will deal with hurt feelings and I think a very useful thing parents can do is read to their children and read these types of books that have diverse people in them, doing everyday things, but maybe doing very different things than what we would normally do.”
As a professor of education and child development, Sanders stresses to her students—future teachers themselves—that every interaction you have with a child, you have an opportunity to teach them and they can grow from that.
Along with her teaching, Sanders was recently appointed associate director of the Whittier Scholars Program (WSP). She is also currently working on a presentation for the Society for Research in Child Development special topics council conference alongside Assistant Professor of Education and Child Development Nora Obregon and WSP Coordinator Joanna Diaz.
Looking toward the future, she plans to write a book on racial socialization directed specifically to parents.