Talking to your kids about racism and building the important skills of understanding, empathy and resiliency

A Letter From C.A.S.E.’s CEO, Debbie Riley, LCMFT, April 2021

Spring is here with warmth and new life sprouting around us. We are beginning to venture outside more, which is a good thing. However, our world is still suffering with the growing global mental health crisis as a result of the pandemic, the alarming rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, and, most recently, yet another mass shooting.

So much to process and manage the myriad of feelings that are stirred up inside of us. Feeling powerless yet knowing we want to do something. We are hurting on so many levels. If we as adults are struggling with how to process and address these issues, how do we talk to the children in our lives about them? I know that our therapists here at C.A.S.E. are having meaningful conversations with the children, teens and families we are serving.

Like many of you reading this, I too go online to search for resources. I was looking for something that would speak to children about these important issues and found a trusted resource that has provided ways to converse with kids about difficult issues honestly and with integrity for many years:  Sesame Workshop. I clicked on this link, and in moments found what I was looking for.

They are providing tools that speak directly to kids about racism, racial literacy and building the important skills of understanding, empathy and resiliency. Skills that can help them process all that is transpiring around them and help them build a better world for the future. I encourage you to check them out, then share them with the kids in your life.

You can start with the Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism Town Hall then follow up with this wonderful song that will help empower and inspire kids to stand up, stand proud and stand together. I haven’t been able to get the song out of my head since I first heard it. It contains an important message that everyone can benefit from, no matter their age.

While the Sesame Street resources should resonate with people of any age, we also curated a page full of free resources for talking to kids and teens about race and racism including links to articles, books, and more.

Please help to move the conversations forward, use your voice to oppose the hatred, and together we can all do our part to ensure that the increase in violence and hate crimes end.

Written by C.A.S.E. CEO Debbie Riley, LCMFT