Saturday, April 5, 2008
An addition to GrandpaKB's latest post
I don't have a link to GrandpaKB's blog, but those that know who he is will be able to find it easily. I have seen the "blindness" that children have, as Ty has grown up and begun to play in community areas. It's fascinating to me considering that I grew up in such a small town in the South where the community did have racial lines that you were not expected to cross. We have taught Ty to be polite and friendly and he has done a great job being open to everyone he meets. Ty doesn't refer to the new little "friends" he makes as the "Asian boy" or "white girl", but as the "green shirt boy" or the "girl in the green jacket". I really don't think he sees race because he doesn't know what race is. When do we learn?....or is it who we learn it from? A particular instance occurred several months ago at a Chick-fil-A playground between Ty and a blind boy. There was a mother and her three children already in the area when Ty started to play. The family was made up of a sister much older than Ty and a set of twin boys who were around 7. One of the boys was blind and was not climbing up the ladder that took the kids to the slide....this boy played on the lower toys and I think that's why Ty was drawn to him. They sat side by side and used their imagination to take them places that I can't begin to remember. After 20 minutes of Ty and the blind brother playing together, I realized that Ty had no concept that he was blind. Is that because Ty didn't care or that Ty didn't know he was supposed to care? As the othe family was preparing to leave, the other boy's mom complemented me on how nice and friendly Ty was. So far, that has been one of my proudest moments for Ty!
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3 comments:
I've often wondered when kids learn race. I remember when I did. My best friend in Elem. School was from India & had polio. I never knew she was different until another kid told me she was black. I stood up and screamed, "She is not black! She's brown! You need to learn your colors!"
I wish we could all remain as uncaring about that as young children do.
Of course we know where kids learn it - from adults. So don't forget that parents have the most influence on their kids.... and be a great positive influence for yours and others. (or all others, in my case since I don't have kids...)
Simple as that.
I have to agree with Zoo Keeper on this one. I'm pretty sure I probably learned it from parents and/or grandparents. Growing up here in the South during their generation, race was such a big issue and it was part of their culture. Some of their views were passed on to me, but I chose not to agree with them. It's critical that as a parent I raise Braeden correctly and try to keep the grandparents from altering that.
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