Color Blind?... A Mother's Heart

If we believe what the Bible says, then we are all uniquely made God. We are shaped for the purposes He has for our lives. With that being said, I believe that I have been designed to share this message with all of you. At work I was required to take a test about unique strengths and one of top strengths was indivuidualism. This means that I love the individual, unique qualitites of each person. I do not like it when people conform and believe that differences should be celebrated. Unfortunately, I have been reminded by the media lately, that there are a lot of people that don't feel this way. There still is a lot of progress to be made in regards to acceptance of others that are different from us. As a parent of interracial children, I plead with you to be a parent, mentor, or person that educates people about not only race but people that are different than you, your family, and your kids.

I want to start off by saying that it is never too early to start talking to your kids about the differences of people. There are several ways to go about doing this well.

Talk to your kids about how great of an artist God is and how he has created so many different types of people. How He loves us all the same. One of the biggest mistakes that parents of non-minority children make {in regards to race} is not talking to their children about it because they think their kids are color blind. Studies have proven that children start developing attitudes about race earlier then we think, normally around the age of five. It is better to proactive in these situations and set positive examples. If not, kids listen to others around them, TV, and the internet to form their own opinions.

Make sure that magazines, books, and shows that you select have diversity within in them. Talk about the children. Educate yourself about the cultures of other people and share those with your kids.

Studies show that one of the most important things that you can do for your child regarding race is to place them {and yourselves} in multicultural settings and relationships. Experts say the number one thing that challenges stereotypes is relationships.

Every night since my babies were little I sing them two songs. Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World. The lyrics are so simple yet so powerful and if more people truly believed them the world would be a better place:

Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.