Teach Babies About Race

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]When little babies are born, they're newborn infants, they don't indicate any preference for people of different skin colors.

[00:00:10]But guess what?

[00:00:12]By the time they're 3 months old, 3 months, they do. They choose to look at pictures of people with the same skin color they grow up with.

[00:00:24]The skin color they see most often. I mean, that makes a total amount of sense, right? The kid is designed to bond to parents and um big people around them because they can't survive without them. By the time children are 3 to 7 years old, children already have identity issues related to race. There was a study done back in 1947.

[00:00:52]The doll study, you may have heard about it. Um they showed little kids, black kids between 3 and 7, four different dolls, two white ones and two black ones. And then they asked them, "Show me the doll you like best. Show me the doll that's nice. Show me the doll that's bad.

[00:01:10]Give me the doll that looks like a white child.

[00:01:14]Give me the doll that looks like a colored child.

[00:01:16]Give me the doll that looks like you."

[00:01:21]A lot of the black kids attributed positive traits to the white dolls, negative traits to the black dolls.

[00:01:31]That breaks my heart.

[00:01:33]When asked which doll looked like them, a lot of them hesitated.

[00:01:39]Others refused to answer. Some turned away completely or covered their faces.

[00:01:45]Some pointed at the white doll first and then corrected themselves.

[00:01:50]And a lot of them just wanted to check out. It was too hard for them, between 3 and 7.

[00:01:56]White parents a lot of times that they will teach their children about race when their children are old enough. I'm telling you about this research to tell you they are old enough by the time they are 3 months old.

[00:02:09]They are old enough to learn about race in infancy because they're already noticing it.

[00:02:14]They're already discriminating and I mean that in the scientific way.

[00:02:19]They're not saying this one's better than that one. They're just saying I prefer that one because that one is associated with the things in my life.

[00:02:27]But as they grow up in this culture their little identities are already being negatively impacted.

[00:02:38]White parents need to start teaching their children about race right away. There should never be a time in their lives when they are not learning about race.

[00:02:49]Make the effort because your child's future well-being and their learning of compassion and empathy depends on it.

[00:02:58]Get curious.