When to tell the kids

[Coolhand2]

Hey guys, I have been wondering when to talk to my son, he just turned 6, talking to him about skin colour, that we are black and there are white, asian, native people. We live in a predominantly white city, only a few blacks, he is the only black kid in his class. We recently stayed in Africa for 1 year, so lots of black people there and even went to school with all black kids, now he is back to this city, lots of white people, and I am just curious if he wonders too, how did you guys do it with your kids?

Assuming he knows his heritage, I wouldn't have thought by 6 you'd need to say anything. I'm sure he's aware the world is made up of all sorts of people from different backgrounds.

@DippingToes, so I guess to just leave it and not mention anything, until he is curious?

Yeah, I'd wait until he mentions it. I wouldn't want to make a big deal of it, or he might think it IS a big deal.

I definitely don't want to make a big deal about it, I will leave it until he asks. Thanks for replying.

No problem 😊

You could try buying ethnic books from amazon. See if he asks you anything. My DS asked me quite early on about skin tone.

@Blulorry, nice to hear your son asked. I will look for the books and check the library too.

Agree with the suggestion not to make a big deal of it. Respond when they ask and have books available with multiple races/ethnicities as characters. If he asks questions and his confidence needs a boost, I recommend Marvellous Me by Lisa Bullard. While the message is universal the main character is a black boy which may help. I got it when my eldest started asking questions and seemed uncomfortable being different, at a similar age to your DS.