By Natasha Hinde
There has been a 鈥渘oticeable increase鈥 in the use of racist language used by white children, according to an early years education consultant.
Liz Pemberton, who delivers anti-racist training and works closely with local authorities, early years organisations and primary school teachers, told HuffPost UK that racism among young children is 鈥渂ecoming more and more frequent鈥.
鈥淐oncerns that I have coming in from educators in nurseries and primary schools have been about there being a noticeable increase in the use of racist language used by white children directed at children from the global majority,鈥 she said.
Typically, early years settings don鈥檛 educate kids around racism specifically, instead focusing on respect and kindness.
But there is an issue, warned Pemberton, where some educators are not secure in their understanding of what constitutes racist behaviour, or they鈥檙e not addressing such behaviour and challenging it when it happens.
What to do when a child displays racist behaviour
In a post on Instagram, Pemberton 鈥 who runs consultancy firm The Black Nursery Manager 鈥 said early years educators are often taught to separate the behaviour from the child. This is all about 鈥渧iewing a child鈥檚 behaviours as actions they do, rather than as reflections of who they are鈥, explains Heritage Counselling.
But the anti-racism trainer said from what she鈥檚 seeing, this doesn鈥檛 seem to happen when racist incidents occur in nurseries.
鈥淔or clarity: you are not labelling a child racist. You are naming the behaviour and language used as racist and this matters when we are talking about embedding a culture of belonging and value in an early years setting,鈥 she explained on social media.
鈥淚n my experience, many white early years educators are so uncomfortable with the word 鈥榬acism鈥, that they bury their heads in the sand and when racist comments are made, they鈥檙e often dismissed as 鈥榥ot nice鈥 instead of being named as racist.
鈥淭his minimisation doesn鈥檛 protect any of the children, it reinforces harm. Silence as a response is equally as harmful because children can interpret this as permission.鈥
As much as it鈥檚 important for nursery workers to be tackling racism when it happens, it鈥檚 also down to parents to put in the work.
If your child says or does something racist, it might feel deeply upsetting, but it鈥檚 important to not brush it under the carpet.
Pemberton urges parents to:
Re-examine the home environment: Take an honest look at what your child might be overhearing or absorbing from conversations among adults, media you watch together, or comments made by extended family or friends. Children pick up far more than we realise.Be honest with yourself: Reflect on your own beliefs and biases. Are there attitudes, jokes, or stereotypes you may be reinforcing? It鈥檚 uncomfortable, but necessary work. Children are not born racist; they learn it from the world around them, starting at home.Take responsibility as the adult: It鈥檚 your job to guide your child鈥檚 understanding of difference, respect, and kindness. Don鈥檛 dismiss the comment as 鈥渒ids being kids.鈥 Have age-appropriate conversations about why what they said was hurtful, teach them how to apologise sincerely, and make clear that these views and words are unacceptable.
If the child is under four, she suggested you could say something like: 鈥淭hat comment has made [child鈥檚 name] feel really sad. That鈥檚 your friend! It鈥檚 not OK to say that about someone鈥檚 skin colour, do you understand?鈥
You can also explain what racism is, in an age-appropriate way. Pemberton offered the example of: 鈥淩acism is when someone is treated unfairly because of their skin colour or where they come from. When people say mean things, don鈥檛 let others play, or treat them like they don鈥檛 belong, that鈥檚 not OK.鈥
Anti-racist parenting at home
Whether a child has displayed racist behaviour or not, parents might also find it helpful to broaden the books, toys and TV shows in their homes, so their children are seeing characters from a range of backgrounds. As author and activist Christine Platt wrote for Mother Mag: 鈥淪torytelling is one of the easiest and accessible approaches for teaching race, equity, diversity, and inclusion.鈥
In a report on raising anti-racist children, by Mattel, the authors suggest reading books which address racism, but also feature protagonists of different races; and urge parents to convey positivity and excitement about difference; and network and build relationships with a diverse mix of parents and carers.
Between the ages of 3-6 years old, the report also recommends leaning into fairness and working on building empathy.
鈥淩ole play is the most effective way to teach this; playing out stories with dolls and figures, dressing up and becoming different people are all play patterns which help children strengthen their empathy skills,鈥 the authors add.