Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race
Project LEARN Category
L- Listen
E- Educate
Intended Audience(s)
Theme/Focus
Racism
Article Details
Citation:
Winkler, E. N. (2009). Children are not colorblind: How young children learn race. PACE, 3(3), 1-8.
Article Abstract
There is a myth in popular culture that young children are “colorblind” or don’t notice race. By this logic, children are “blank slates” who cannot develop racial prejudices until they are explicitly taught to do so. This leads many adults to argue that we should not discuss race with preschoolers because they are “too young,” and even mentioning race will “put ideas in their heads” or “poison their minds.” When young children talk about race or express any bias, it is often either dismissed (“She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”), blamed on parents or other adults (“Someone must have said that at home.”), or only indirectly addressed as general bad behavior (“We don’t say things like that because it hurts people’s feelings.”). However, current psychological research suggests this approach is all wrong. In fact, research clearly shows that children not only recognize race from a very young age, but also develop racial biases by ages three to five that do not necessarily resemble the racial attitudes of adults in their lives (Aboud, 2008; Hirschfeld, 2008; Katz, 2003; Katz & Kofkin, 1997; Patterson & Bigler, 2006; Van Ausdale & Feagin, 2001). This research suggests that we must rethink what we “know” about young children and race.