Teaching children how to handle racism

Denene Millner, Bestselling Author & Founder of MyBrownBaby, shares advice for African American parents on teaching your child the best way to handle racism
Parenting Tips | Teaching Children How To Handle Racism
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Teaching children how to handle racism

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There is nothing more painful as an African American parent, then to have to explain to your child why someone would mistreat them for something that they can't change; something that has to do with the color of their skin. It's a constant conversation that you have with them, in age-appropriate ways. Eventually, they learn that it is going to happen, because we live in a society where these things happen. The question is, how will you deal with it? In my house, we tend not to look at it in a Martin Luther King kind of way, where you sit and you go and take it. We tend to deal with it in a Malcom kind of way, where we let them know that if someone attacks you, in that kind of way, by calling them the "N" word or doing something to mentally or physically harm you because of the color of your skin; we don't necessarily want you to hit them back, but we understand if you do. There are parents who do not agree with that, and that's okay. That's the way we deal with it in our house. Most importantly, across the board, no matter how you approach it, is sitting your kid down and address it. Help your kid to understand, that this is going to happen. When it does, you have to have a plan of action of how you will deal with it. As a parent, you can figure out about how you are going to deal with it, by thinking about it and talking to your child about your plan of action; how you are going to deal with it.

Denene Millner, Bestselling Author & Founder of MyBrownBaby, shares advice for African American parents on teaching your child the best way to handle racism

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Denene Millner

Author & Founder of MyBrownBaby.com

New York Times best-selling author Denene Millner is a hotly sought after award-winning journalist whose insightful and captivating pieces have secured her foothold in the entertainment, parenting and book publishing industries. Millner spent the last decade working as a columnist, contributing editor and blogger for Parenting, a national magazine for which she provided witty, engaging, mom-to-mom advice on ethics and etiquette in everything from childrearing and marriage to work and friendship. Currently, she also is the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, a critically acclaimed, award-winning blog that examines parenting and motherhood through the multi-cultural experience. Millner frequently contributes as an entertainment writer for Essence, the most well-read and respected magazine for African American women, and has written for a plethora of national publications and prestigious websites, including Parenting, HealthEbony, JetHeart & SoulReal Health, Money, iVillage, Parenting.com, TodayMoms, and The Root, among others. Her extensive television experience includes regular appearances on the The Today Show, CBS Early ShowThe Nate Berkus Show, HLN, CNN, MSNBC, VH1, and the Rachel Ray show. Millner also is the author of 21 books. The former political reporter and entertainment journalist lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and their two daughters.

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