Psychologists Howard Stevenson (who spoke at the February 2017 Not in Our Town Continuing Conversation) and Tamar Chansky describe the conversations parents should be having with their children about  racial violence on WHYY’s Newsworks.

1. Sort out your own feelings first.
2. Explain what’s happening in your own words with a message of affection, protection, and correction, being prepared if children want to go beneath the surface of the facts.
3. Help kids avoid internalizing someone else’s hatred.  Parents in families from non-targetted groups need to talk actively about race; Stevenson notes, “The research supports the notion that the more information that young people get around racial matters, the less confused they are and the less they’re feeling helpless.”
4. Encourage your children to be allies.

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