In being taken aback by .....

[CFAW]

My son saying to my mum on the phone "hello mummy, my name is Alexander, I am white"?

I found it a really odd thing for a 4 year old to come out with, it sounds silly but i have not ever mentioned colour, as he has never asked about it.

"hello Nanny" Not mummy oops!

Children say all sorts of stuff like this. Have they been doing any learnung in equality in his educational setting recently ?

Does he go to pre-school or nursery? Perhaps they have had some kind of diversity discussion?

Something that's been raised at nursery, maybe?

Not that i am aware of, i am sure they would be covering the subject. But i don't want him pointing out everyone's colour to them.

He is in reception i will ask his teacher on Monday.

maybe he has just noticed?

can remember ds1 at about 5ish suddenly saying "mummy, that lady is very brown isn't she?"

maybe he was saying "I am alright"

oooh yeh! i bet he was

Because we are a family of Greek and Celtic's there are all sorts of skin colours in our family so i didn't think he would be that "interested" in colour, perhaps i am being naive in that respect.

Ha ha no no definitely said i am White

Children say it how it is.

I remember when DS was in Nursery aged 4ish a new boy started and he was quite dark in colour. My son just stared at him for ages and when he came home told me that "A brown boy started in his class today" I should probably point out that where we live it is about 99% white people and in the whole school of around 400 children I can count on 1 hand the number of non white children. Oh and staff are all white too, so not a lot of diversity.

I spoke to his teacher the next day mentioning what he said, and she said most of the children thought it a huge novelty that this boy had started, all the children were curious and none of them were being malicious.

DS is now 11 and much more PC.

I wouldnt worry about your child OP.

Thanks Jax xx

Well most 4yr olds find it difficult to say "I am alright", and it would almost certainly for most of them come out sounding like "I'm white". What had your mum said to him, as I would have thought it likely for her to say "hello, how are you".. that would just to me, be a very plausible explanation.

I work with two year olds, one of the little boys looked out of the window and said 'look theres a dirty man' refering to a black man, i clearly told him he was black and explained about different people with different skin colours e.t.c but my point is children often just say what they see.

Alexander is a strange one and either says "i am just fine" or "i am feeling much better" All she had said was hello. lol He also described someone on the telly the other day as "that black man" so its been a few days in the making.

Ah right, he is just at that age where he is learning that people are all different then. :)

I agree cookie it probably is as simple as that, i just don't want him to start saying to people "hello you are brown" or "hello you are white" might get old quick.

Think so squeaky, the end of innocents i think :(

I want him to still think of people as people not as groups and colours. Very sad he is becoming a boy and no longer a baby :(

I wouldn't worry, CFAW. My sister, who is more than nine years younger than me, once told me my friend was "chocolate colored" when she was a similar age. Most adults aren't offended by a child that age.

Scout, i hope not mind you he told my brother he had spots on his face the other day. Perhaps i am just looking too much into it.

He was probably just getting ready for the Census tomorrow

Haa haa

Dd's school is close to NATO in Brussels. Children in her class with darker skin DID come from India and Africa. I had one hell of job as she got bigger, explaining that that wasn't always the case, that the children were Belgian and in fact SHE is the foreign one.

Maybe they have done on ethnics etc etc in my DS1 preschool there is an indian boy, polish children, latvian children and russian children.