The Washington Post: Prof. Scott on Talking to Your Kids about George Floyd and Racism

From The Washington Post’s “On Parenting,” Assistant Professor Judith C. Scott explains why you should be talking to your children about the George Floyd protests.

Excerpted from The Washington Post –

Are you struggling with how to put this time into context with your kids, how to guide them through things they may have seen or heard in the past few weeks? Many families have never had a choice but to teach their children about race. And some are just learning how. In any case, our children are having a lot of feelings about everything right now, even if you think they’re not aware. They are.

“They may have caught the video of George Floyd [being killed] when there was no warning, and I find that so disturbing, because how many murders do people witness on the news?” asks Judith C. Scott, a professor of social work at Boston University who studies and has a passion for talking about racism and its impacts on children. “Or if they’re on social media, they have friends who may have seen it. It’s important to know what they saw first, and take it from there.” 

As a parent, you can say: “I know you’ve seen some things on TV, with the protests and the violence. I want to talk to you about that,” Scott says. You can also prepare them and suggest you find a time to talk about it later in the day: “I want to understand what you’re feeling and thinking, and I want you to know I’m having these feelings, too.”

It’s important to talk right now, because if parents are silent, she said, kids can tell they’re upset and will make their own conclusions, thinking maybe that they did something wrong.  

And in the midst of these conversations, make sure to show your children the good that is bubbling up around them right now. We “need to stress the fact that this is a time when people are standing up for injustice,” Scott says. “I think people forget that there were times when people stood up against racism, that they stood up against what’s wrong. So not all people accept it as something they have to live with. I’m so inspired by all the protests around the world, here. Showing those pictures and all the signs that are out there may help children of color know they are definitely not alone in this.” […]

Read the full story on The Washington Post‘s website here.