Whit Howard, now 8, has impressed his family with his discernment on racial issues. The Howards don't rely only on the schools to teach their children about race and history. And I asked why. Young children are capable of learning the big-picture facts if you break them down to their level, Van Ausdale says. The sooner you do this, the better.
Little people have a strong sense of fairness.
They often are interested in assuring that everyone gets the same conditions or amount, whether it's ice cream or turns at bat. Age 3 is not too young to introduce basic facts such as skin color, eye shape and hair texture - things children visualize and can touch, Van Ausdale says. We tend to start in middle school when it's way too late because we dismiss a child's ability to comprehend and process information at a young age. Children as young as 4 know how to disguise or conceal their negative ways from adults. In her recent work, Van Ausdale studied several multiethnic child-care centers where children as young as 3 revealed attitudes about race that often shocked their parents, she says.