Should Children Be Exposed to Racism?

This video shows an adolescent African American girl afraid of a White female officer. It's unclear from the video segment why the officer approached the girl but it's apparent by the girl's body language and facial expression, she is terrified. The officer proceeds to ensure the girl that she is safe with her and explains that "all officers are not bad."

Daily exposure to racism in elementary school and below is emotionally and mentally traumatizing for children. I can tell by the conversations young children have about the topics that they THINK they understand well. This is why I don’t advocate for children to get involved in current events too young. Definitely not before middle school. (I’m a certified grade 6-12 teacher so perhaps my perspective is a bit biased. I’m open to your feedback).... 


I wasn't aware of traumatic events going on in the world until 6th grade. Prior to that, I exercised cognitive skills, communication skills, and analytical skills. My parents enforced spirituality, education, and overall mentally prepared me by ensuring I had a strong foundation to take on the information that later consumed my thoughts as a preteen and beyond...


I find that children under 11 years old may not ACCURATELY  identify racism  in a predicament until they’re old enough to metacognitively reflect on it. For instance, if a white girl bullied me or didn’t want to play with me I just INNOCENTLY thought as a child SHOULD: “she's mean,” or “she just doesn’t want to play with me” or “she doesn’t like me” or “let me go find someone else to play with”. That’s normal or acceptable in my opinion compared to a child complaining that the white girl is being racist. It’s detrimental for young children, while their brains are barely developed, to accurately identify and cope with these worldly corruptions. According to the American Psychological Association, children that are exposed to traumatic events are more likely to have mental health issues.  That’s how most of the kids in our community grow up traumatized and conditioned to a victimized way of thinking. I believe parents should continue to raise their children to see the world innocently until they’re mature enough to digest the corruption. I like that church is an uplifting place for children to identity right from wrong and understand that there are sinful things in the world before actually facing it. There are many places, programs, or organizations other than church that create a safer space for children to learn and understand current events. 


It’s embedded in westernized culture to feed children the media. In many countries and  cultures, children are raised to excel in their studies, build on their crafts/talents, and focus on self sufficiency. America apparently loves to condition peoples minds with their media agenda aka propaganda. I won’t expose my child to it. He’ll learn events through reading and in a classroom setting where his thinking is guided by experts. There are many interviews online where celebrity parents say that they advocate for the same, although they work in the media industry.  I recall parent teacher conferences and PTA meetings where parents said that they don’t allow thier children to watch tv or use tech devices unsupervised. My upbringing was a bit similar so I experienced first hand the benefit of this and will continue to raise my son in that way. When he is in middle school, we will dissect these conversations with him.

​
But of course, how one raises thier child is very subjective. So to each it’s own but always keep your child's mental health in mind. - @moniquekrose

#Keepinmind #mentalhealth #JustMyPiece #perspective #Childdevelopment #mentalhealth #childrenareprecious #futureleaders #HistoryInTheMaking #educationiskey #insight
​