Does your family’s skin match? In our transracial family, our skin doesn’t match—and we talk about it!

Does your family’s skin match? In our transracial family, our skin doesn’t match—and we talk about it!

by guest blogger Janet Alperstein, Ph.D From the day I met my son at age six months, our adoption story and our racial and religious identities have been part of our everyday conversations. The discussions have evolved over time as…

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“That’s not fair!” and the concept of protest

by Sachi Feris One of my daughter’s favorite activities is playing with her vintage Fisher Price people from the 1970’s. At one-and-a-half, she spent happy hours placing them in and out of her vintage school bus…but it proved to be…

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What I did when my son said, “that man looks like a monkey!” on a public bus

by guest blogger Julie Roberts-Phung This post is being re-posted as part of a week-long series highlighting supporters of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), both in their parenting of race-conscious children and their activist work for racial justice. SURJ…

“Is that your Mom?”—Children’s questions about families

“Is that your Mom?”—Children’s questions about families

by Sachi Feris Whenever my daughter sees a seemingly unaccompanied child (for example, a five-year-old who is half a block ahead of their adult on their scooter), her immediate question is: “Where is that child’s mommy or papi?” Her assumption…

What I say about a children’s book when all the characters are White

What I say about a children’s book when all the characters are White

by Sachi Feris Among our children’s books, we have a dozen or so of my childhood favorites that my mom saved. One such classic is “Too Many Mittens” by Florence and Louis Slobodkin, published in 1958. This story is about twin…

What to do when your child comments on a stranger's physical appearance in public

What to do when your child comments on a stranger’s physical appearance in public

by Sachi Feris The first time my daughter verbally communicated in public about another person’s physical appearance, we were on an Amtrak train back from visiting friends in Boston. She had just turned two. The ticket collector had an olive…