I got a text yesterday from my daughter Kara in NYC “Do you want to come over and hang out this afternoon?” That’s code for I need my mom. Of course, I say yes.
I arrive, popcorn in hand. We talk about what is going on in the world, how sad we both feel. She expresses her feelings and I just listen. I want to fix it all for her, but I can’t. But, by acknowledging her feelings I know I’m helping.
We watch Andrew Cuomo read passages about peace from the bible.
We watch Obama and cry together.
New York feels like the epicenter of it all. It is.
I did not raise my children to not be racist, I simply showed them kindness.
Children mainly learn from watching their parents and how they treat other human beings and animals. They watch how their parents speak to and about other people. My children had the most wonderful babysitter Robyn growing up. She now lives in NYC and raises her two children vegan. https://www.facebook.com/raisingvegkids
Just through her actions, her children learned compassion for all living things. I have never met two more loving, kind, sensitive children. This isn’t because she told them how to be, it’s because she showed them how to be.
The question is not “how do I teach my children about racism?” The question is “How do I show compassion for all beings and people by my words and actions?”
When I teach parenting classes we always start with intention. Have you asked yourself “What is my intention for raising my kids?” Wayne Dyer said “ Our intention creates our reality.” Intention is a force that sets things in motion.
When my kids were little we made an intention board for the house, framed it and hung it in the kitchen where everyone could see it.
In this house we…
Are kind to animals
Are compassionate to all people
Care about the environment
You get the idea. Maybe, instead of wondering how to speak with your kids about racism, you spend time this weekend with them creating an Intention Board! Get a poster board, markers, colored pencils and create an intention board together.
In this house we…
Ask them what they want to add to the board.
What a powerful family activity. Hang it somewhere where everyone can see it often. Every time anyone walks by that message it gets more powerful. It goes into the universe and becomes a guiding energy.
When George Flyod was being murdered he called out to his mom who had passed away two years earlier.
You never stop needing your mom…
