Reddit reviews The Colors of Us

There have been a couple great posts on this topic lately; check out this one, this one and this one.

I don't think this needs to be a "when you're older" topic - skin comes in lots of different colors just like hair, eyes, etc. Of course this is something a child is going to notice and be curious about, especially if he hasn't been exposed to much racial diversity. A book like The Colors of Us or Who We Are!: All About Being the Same and Being Different might help you find appropriate ways to discuss those things with him. As for racism, that doesn't entirely need to be a "when you're older" topic either - the Dr. Seuss story The Sneetches is a fantastic age-appropriate introduction to the idea that some people choose to discriminate against others for superficial reasons like the way they look (in the case of the Sneetches, whether they have stars on their bellies), and how everyone loses out when that happens.

This is a great list of additional books and other resources dealing with race and racism: http://creativewithkids.com/resources-for-talking-to-kids-about-race-and-racism/ Never too early to start introducing more diversity into your son's awareness and encouraging acceptance of differences!

Yes that is a good start. I also suggest reading her this book "The Colors of Us." http://www.amazon.com/The-Colors-Us-Karen-Katz/dp/0805071636 (and Sesame Streets' We're Different, We're the Same.)

The message is that everyone is a shade of brown. From there you can tell her that you are also brown, her mom is brown, and her siblings are brown. And that when she makes comments like that they hurt people, like you and her family.

I think since you dont know where or who is influencing her, your main concern is to have her understand that she is smart(give examples), beautiful, and brown. And that she shouldnt be ashamed of it. Show her influential "brown people" like Barack Obama, Condoleeza Rice, Princess Angela of Liechtenstein (yes a real 'brown' princess)..etc..etc... Show her that brown women are beautiful (Iman, Kimora Lee Simmons, Tyra Banks, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj (if your niece likes her), etc..etc.. You get the idea, right?

I haven't read through all the responses, but I'm sure you've been given some good advice on how this discussion would go.

I thought I'd mention this children's book I've heard great things about. (There tends to be a lot of good kid's books covering an array of difficult social topics) I recently put it on my baby registry so I could bring up the topic to my child in the future.

The Color of Us