‘Mummy, why do all of the runners have black skin?’

[MoiraRoseIsMyQueen]

So, my 5-year-old has just asked this question while watching the 100m heats, and I’m struggling to answer! Does anyone have any advice on how to respond, without making generalisations or being racist? I am so sorry if I sound ignorant but I said ‘because people from Africa tend to be very good at running because of their genetics’ - and then thought that is probably not a good answer. Help!

I would say all runners dont have black skin, they are the 8 fastest runners in this particular competition and they all happen to have back skin.

The bizarreness of a poster commenting that they are surprised a 5-year-old is watching the Olympics. Does it contain sex, nudity, violence and bad language?

Also sick of the “trying hard” and “grit and determination” idiocy. Would you say the same about learning Maths or English? That everyone could ace their GCSEs if only they tried hard .

You are saying that weight lifters and boxes who are all ethnicities, so all races including white, aren't strong

Ah Red you are forgetting - only white people show varying phenotypes. Black, East Asian, South Asian, Polynesian etc - only one phenotype each.

How is a child to learn NOT to be racist, if he's told at five years old, that asking questions about skin colour etc is bad?

Seriously, there are some very strange responses on this thread. People are virtually turning themselves inside out to avoid dealing with a simple answer to a five year olds simple question.

Would you say ability to excel in math or languages are tied to genetics? I hope not.

Yes @RedMarauder, sometimes it's just very pragmatic!

I was friends with somebody very sporty, and she had to choose between lacrosse and hockey. She went for lacrosse in the end because the training centre was nearer, and she thought she had a better chance at getting on their U21s national team because they had quite a few people who would age out over the next two years than the hockey. But she could easily have chosen the other, and would probably have been equally good.

@C8H10N4O2

You are saying that weight lifters and boxes who are all ethnicities, so all races including white, aren't strong

Ah Red you are forgetting - only white people show varying phenotypes. Black, East Asian, South Asian, Polynesian etc - only one phenotype each.

Spot on

I would not say anything about people from Africa being good at running, that is pretty racist, however well meant.

As PP have said, the real question is why are so few swimmers etc black and I didn't watch the equestrian events so not sure how diverse that is?!

Also worth mentioning that athletics is Jamaica's national sport

Ah Red you are forgetting - only white people show varying phenotypes. Black, East Asian, South Asian, Polynesian etc - only one phenotype each.

Exactly!!

That is the point.

@Greenlittle

Would you say ability to excel in math or languages are tied to genetics? I hope not.

Why? Because a facility for different academic, linguistic or artistic skills clearly does run in families. It's probably unlikely that it extends to specific groups in different parts of the world, but there's certainly a genetic element.

Most of / many of the fastest and best are black. He is observant.

He may not be being racist but at that age you should have already told him you don't ask questions regarding the colour of people's skin.

My children are welcome to ask me/DH any question they like at home. Turning any mention of race into something shameful seems like a very bad idea.
(However, I have also taught 5yo DS that people may be sensitive about certain attributes (not named any in particular!) and that we don't talk about people when they're there.)

Maths aren’t tied to genetics for goodness sake

How could they not be? Our brains are shaped by our genes just like any other organ of the body.

I was mentioning Maths because some posters were spinning a line that athletic prowess is a case of who tries the hardest . This is clearly as idiotic as claiming that every child in a class can achieve level 9 GCSE Maths if only they put their back into it.

Hereditary academic ability is another matter, which some people seek to deny. I think it’s proven to be 50% hereditary, and I would presume that athletic ability (including height/build etc) is matter of a percentage of genes too.

All these things are a mix of nature and nurture. Certain sports require certain physical characteristics and sometimes those will be more prevalent in people with similar genetic backgrounds.
But it's not just that, it's also down to accessibility, tradition, inspiration from seeing role models you can relate to, where money is spent in your community/country etc. The demographics of the Olympic dressage team are, I'm sure, quite different to the BMX riders, and the boxers are probably from rather different backgrounds to the fencers even though they may well share some physical abilities.
Having the core physical potential is obviously very important in sporting success, but there are plenty of people who have that physical ability but don't reach the top for other reasons, and there are also occasional people who are hugely successful despite not having the ideal physique. Mark Cavendish famously performed terribly in British Cycling's physical tests but is one of the most successful cyclists of all times. Physical factors aren't the whole picture, though for most people they are pretty important. But I doubt there is one single factor that makes any sportsperson successful, it will be a mixture of physical abikity, mental factors and social factors. I don't really think there's any easy way yo explain that to a 5 year old though I'm sorry.

I would say excelling in certain areas of academia (not just passing a GCSE) is down to genetics too

@Greenlittle

Would you say ability to excel in math or languages are tied to genetics? I hope not.

You ignored this so I'll repeat it again and add another one:

Do you think if you'd trained every single day of your life for every minute possible, you'd have the slightest chance of beating Simone Biles at gymnastics? Or Katie Ledecky at swimming? Or Elaine Thompson-Herah at running?

And do you think you could independently solve Fermat's theorem if you just tried hard enough?

Why? Because a facility for different academic, linguistic or artistic skills clearly does run in families.

Citations for that claim please.
That is not proven.
Certainly with intelligence there is a regression towards the mean.
Environmental and nurturing environmental factors play a huge part.
Nothing "clearly "about it.

@Legomania

He may not be being racist but at that age you should have already told him you don't ask questions regarding the colour of people's skin.

My children are welcome to ask me/DH any question they like at home. Turning any mention of race into something shameful seems like a very bad idea.
(However, I have also taught 5yo DS that people may be sensitive about certain attributes (not named any in particular!) and that we don't talk about people when they're there.)

how sensible - why not respond to an interested, intelligent 5 year old with information about skin colour (black or white) . The question deserves a honest answer not wrapped up in 'shush you can't ask that because you will upset some mumsnet posters'

Academic ability is complex. But not massively tied to heredity.
Otherwise generations of academics would produce super clever offspiring- which they don't.
Academics are just as likely to produce a child of average intelligence as a parents of challenged ability.
A regression towards the mean.
Academic parents do have the resources to provide a more stimulating environment to raise a child, plus money to pay for a better social/housing/community/school/ extra curricular environment, plus pass on can do/esteem attitude, meaning that a a child of average intelligence will thrive.
A child born in less fortunate conditions is no less intelligent but far less likely to achieve.

You have to work/train to reach your genetic potential, which is where nurture comes in. But to say that any of us could be world class as running/maths/whatever if we just try is patent nonsense. There's a ceiling to how fast each of us can run no matter how much effort and resources we put into training, and that limit is different for me, you, and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

Are people saying intelligence, mathematical abilities etc are due to genetics 🙄

Veering towards eugenics territory eh?

Instead of reducing people down to your home-spun genetics stereotyping, why not educate kids who may not have diverse friends and a social circle into seeing others as a whole, sum of many parts. You know, the nuanced way you probably view yourself?

I think you need to educate yourself first, Greenlittle.

I watched this some years ago. distribution.channel4.com/programme/michael-johnson--survival-of-the-fastest

and read this that critiqued it journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1536504214522010

None of it at a 5 year old level of course.