Until I was 4, we lived in Maryland, in a racially diverse suburb where my folks had a variety of friends from various ethnicities. We then moved up to Dedham, which was, at the time, extremely segregated, in 1977 or so, so during the bussing crisis.
One absorbs what's in the air, and what's not in front of you. And for young kids, a year is like, *forever*. So when I was six, I had a music teacher I didn't like. She was doctrinaire and syrupy, as I recall. So I said to my mom, "I think I don't like black people."
And my mom... paused. And said, "Really. Why's that, do you think?"
And I explained about my teacher, and my mom said, basically, "Oh, well, could it be that you just don't like your *teacher*?" and I was like, "...Oh."
So, yeah, just, keep having the right kinds of conversations, and don't be *worried* if/when your kid absorbs weird things. Just keep talking to them, and don't react as if they are The Bad Thing. It's hard to compete with the air around you, but not impossible.
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One absorbs what's in the air, and what's not in front of you. And for young kids, a year is like, *forever*. So when I was six, I had a music teacher I didn't like. She was doctrinaire and syrupy, as I recall. So I said to my mom, "I think I don't like black people."
And my mom... paused. And said, "Really. Why's that, do you think?"
And I explained about my teacher, and my mom said, basically, "Oh, well, could it be that you just don't like your *teacher*?" and I was like, "...Oh."
So, yeah, just, keep having the right kinds of conversations, and don't be *worried* if/when your kid absorbs weird things. Just keep talking to them, and don't react as if they are The Bad Thing. It's hard to compete with the air around you, but not impossible.