Plus a couple of great books for kinky coily curly hair kids
Have you begun to give your children positive reinforcement about their image? Are you taking the time to talk to them about their ethnicity of being mixed/biracial/multiracial? We have the honor, as parents of shaping our children’s reflection of themselves. In our home, we have chosen to acknowledge and positively reassert our children’s self-esteem and teach them self-love by talking to them about being a mixed kid in a mixed family.
We want our daughters to think and feel confident about their hair, their skin and who they are as a person. Therefore we identified this goal from the start with our oldest, making sure that we had the appropriate resources. Throughout the bookshelves, there is a collection of books that address race and culture at an age-appropriate level.
The Discovery of Diversity
A couple of weeks ago Misha and I were driving home from an errand when she randomly announced: “Your skin is black, and my skin is kind of white.” As I composed my reply in my head, I reminded myself that she was 3-years old and had just completed the color unit at her preschool.
They had been working on primary colors. The kids in her class were encouraged to dress in a different color each day that week. Was she was simply making an observation?
I explained to her “my skin is brown, and yours is a little caramel.” She then showed me her palms and again stated: “my skin is kind of white.” I flipped my hand in between the seats and showed her my palms, “the palms of my hands are pretty light too!”
Within the next week, she followed up her statement: with informing me that she was the only one in her class that didn’t have white skin.
I wondered again if this was her evaluation or if another child had mentioned this to her. None the less my response was “well aren’t you special?” Another couple of days passed before she retracted her statement, naming her Indian classmate and telling me that she also had brown skin.
The Talk About Ethnicity
Misha stayed home with me last Friday, her preschool was closed for training. Which gave us some extra one one one time, and I pulled out some of the books I’ve been collecting that talk about ethnicity and culture.
This post immediately came to me, so I wanted to share with you five great literary resources I recommend. Misha and I read all of these in one sitting, talked about them and together we took some notes just for you! Misha used one of my fancy G-2 pens to add her cliff notes.
These books gave us talking points to delve into the topics of race, ethnicity, and culture at an age-appropriate level. These books feature children that look like my girls, giving them positive self-image and pride. The first three books are specific to mixed kids, the last two books would be great for any brown skinned, curly haired cutie. For more on our hair routine click here.
[stextbox id=’custom’ bwidth=’2′ ccolor=’d0b0c3′ bcolor=’8397b4′ bgcolor=’d0b0c3′ cbgcolor=’d0b0c3′ bgcolorto=’d0b0c3′ cbgcolorto=’d0b0c3′ image=’null’]Top 5 books to teach self-love to biracial kids
#1 is our top choice
1. Who’s in my family By Robie H. Harris
This book would be fitting for several diverse families. It talks about living in different settings; living in an urban vs. rural environment, living in a house vs. a flat. It addresses various living arrangements such as live-in grandparents, step-parents, and families with shared custody. It even mentions families with two moms or two dads. The overarching theme is that no matter what kind of family you have; families love each other.
2. I am Mixed by Garcelle Beauvais and Sebastian A. Jones
This book has beautifully illustrated pictures and uses scrumptious sweets to talk about the cultural contrast of biracial families. It dances with the topics without getting too deep into the subject.
3. Black, White, Just Right by Marguerite W. Davol
A grandmother wrote this book for her biracial grandchildren. It touches
on the contrast between the black mother and the white father; Highlighting their hair, skin and eye color along with music, art and food preferences.
4. I like myself by Karen Beaumont
Super cute board book with bright color illustrations. This rhyming book talks about self-love no matter what. Using silly situations to tell children it’s okay to be different and we should embrace our flaws.
5. Here comes the rain by Renee Berry
This is a charming book that dispels the notion that kinky, coily, curly girls have to protect their hair from the water to prevent our hairstyles from converting to its natural state. It reiterates self-love and acceptance.
