Honoring the Space In Between
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PUBLICATIONS
Anissa L. Eddie
The book, Talking to Kids About Race: An Introductory Guide to Building Foundations for Racial Equity in Early Childhood, is a must-read for parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and anyone who interacts with young children. This book (TTKAR) not only explains why it is important to build foundations for racial equity in early childhood, but it also tells readers how to begin. The concept of race can be difficult for young children to understand. Still, research shows that talking to kids about race at an early age contributes positively to their identity development and their ability to establish anti-bias perspectives. The mix of developmental theory, practical tools, and experiential activities included in TTKAR will leave the reader feeling equipped to begin facilitating conversations with children that demystify race and promote inclusive mindsets. Piper Adonya's engaging illustrations bring the content to life and display a beautiful diversity of skin tones and physical features.
During the first year of life, children begin to develop preferences for their own racial group over others. To interrupt the development of these and other biases during infancy and toddlerhood, educators can use books to promote anti-racist and anti-bias thinking and behaviors in children, while also supporting children's emergent literacy. This article presents criteria for educators to consider as they curate a collection of developmentally appropriate books for infant/toddler classroom libraries. In doing so, educators can expose children to positive representations of others and cultivate respect for children and their communities. We offer practical information about how educators can use these books to promote anti-racist and anti-bias education during the first years of life.
The purpose of this study is to expand understanding of the early stages of the lifespan model of ethnic‐racial identity by summarizing and mapping existing research on the development of ethnic‐racial awareness among children from birth to age 3. A scoping review methodology is used to systematically identify and analyze the existing literature on early ethnic‐racial awareness and developmental influences on this awareness among infants and toddlers. The final analysis included 168 unique studies within 105 papers published between January 1990 and March 2023. Findings confirm that infants and toddlers demonstrate a capacity for ethnic‐racial awareness, including phenotypic appearance and language of those similar and different from their own. Findings also demonstrate the need for more research on individual differences in the development of ethnic‐racial awareness, and the influences that account for variation in order to further understand how ethnic‐racial awareness emerges and evolves during the racial‐priming period. Published research on ethnic‐racial awareness among children under 3 years of age primarily includes looking time studies with disproportionate samples of White infants. Findings also indicate an absence of studies examining early ethnic‐racial socialization practices and anti‐bias interventions among caregivers of infants and toddlers. Implications for future research are discussed.