Parenting gets harder every year. We all thought the infant stage was hard. The toddler stage left us worn out! Truthfully those are a walk in the park.
Their first year of school is where it really begins. You’re introduced to crushes, bullies, behavior, learning issues, and so much more, but it’s still only the beginning. You begin to think about teenage years, and college, and the crushing anxiety of this child growing up and making their own decisions, hoping you gave them the right tools to make it.
Some parents have a few extra fears added in the mix. Unfortunately, I am one of them. In the last year I’ve really learned what it’s like to have a mixed child.“I don’t look like you.” “If we were alive when Martin Luther King was alive, people would like you, but they wouldn’t like me.”These are just a few things I’ve heard from my 7 year old recently. He didn’t pick that up on his own. I’ve always talked to him about different races and cultures, including his own.Nope, it’s not on me. He says comments like that because he hears “is he yours?” “He doesn’t look like you!” “Did you adopt him?” He hears me respond with things like: he has my eyes. He has my smile. He has my personality.To a 7 year old, my response doesn’t always heal that wound. What he hears is he’s different. He sees that you and your child look the same and wonders if it’s okay that he and I “look different” to you.Luckily I’ve came across a treasure on amazon. Children’s books for biracial children. My hope is that he will know we are an ordinary family even if that looks different to other people.So, this is just a friendly reminder that it’s 2020. There are families with mixed race kids. There are families who adopt children of different races. There are families that look completely different than yours in all forms. If you want to comment on it, please educate yourself before. You’re only hurting yourself and your child. Don’t let the future leave you behind. ✌🏻
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