If you are raising a biracial or mixed-race child, you definitely don’t want to miss this awesome interview with Fariba, or Mixed.Up,Mama who blogs at mixedracefamilies.com. She shares some amazing tips for raising biracial kids. You can check it out here on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts by searching for Families Embracing Diversity.
Who is Mixed Up Mama?
Before we jump into her amazing tips, let me briefly introduce you to Fariba or Mixed Up Mama
- A British, Iranian Canadian who grew up with a distorted notion of who she was because racial identity wasn’t something her family talked about.
- She grew up in a very mono-racial area and her family was one of the only immigrant families in the area. She says she often felt like an “other”.
- In University she began to learn more about her Iranian side and explore her identity as a whole.
- Her husband is Nigerian and they decided to be intentional about teaching their daughters about all aspects of their identities from the beginning.
Amazing Tips for Raising Biracial Kids
- Talk with your kids openly about race and identity.
- Start the conversations early.
- Be proactive, don’t wait for issues to arise.
- Use books as a tool to spark conversations. If you are looking for books about race, check out these awesome recommendations.
- Books help you have tough conversations without making your child feel like its directly about them.
- Be sure to have books and toys that represent, or look like, your child and others that don’t.
- Spend time with extended family.
- Name your skin color- butterscotch, vanilla, chocolate. Naming our colors acknowledges the beauty of our diversity.
- Celebrate differences.
- Introduce your kids to role models who look like them. You could look at this list of famous biracial men and women for inspiration.
- Introduce your children to other cultures.
- Talk about all aspects of diversity- cultural diversity, racial, family structures, etc. The world is not one size fits all!
- Get to know people from other cultures and ethnicities and learn their stories.
What do you do when the world sends negative messages about pieces of your identity?
Teach your kids to question what they hear on the news and from their friends.
Keep the doors of communication open. (If we don’t talk about it, kids will form their own conclusions and that could be harmful.)
Find More Amazing Tips for Raising Biracial Kids
If you want to connect with Fariba to learn more of her great tips for raising biracial kids, you can connect with her on Facebook or over at Mixed Race Families. If you need help opening up those lines of communication and talking with your kids about race, download our free Ebook “Talking to Children About Race”.