In our society, racist bullying is like those plants who have this magical ability to regrow themselves no matter what. Despite introducing legislations to protect people from racial discrimination, many of us are guilty of engaging in discriminating behavior and attitude towards people belong to a different race, and this is exactly what our kids are picking up and then imitating in schools. Racial bullying statistics paint a rather bleak picture, underscoring the need to immediately address the issue with the intent to resolve it conclusively. As with many other kids-related issues, you, the parents, are the key to the solution. There are various ways in which you can discourage this particular form of bullying among kids, some of which are discussed below.

Learning Starts at Home

Kids are not racist by birth. This means it is only after birth that they start to develop this behavior. Our kids are a reflection of our character and values. In other words, whether our kids will turn out to be racist bullies or not really depends on us. We need to nip the evil in the bud by exhibiting tolerance, patience, respect and empathy towards everyone so that our kids learn to do the same. It is our responsibility as parents to teach kids the divine rule of equality according to which all beings are equal irrespective of their race, gender, age, sexual orientation, social status, etc. It is the only way we can get rid of racist bullying forever.

Teach Kids to Show Zero Tolerance to Racism

In addition to developing tolerance for diversity among kids, we have to encourage them to stand up to racist bullying and bring it to the attention of elders and the school management instead of concealing it, something that happens a lot. Having zero tolerance for such kind of bullying, or any kind of bullying for that matter, can really help in stripping bullies of their biggest weapon, fear. We need to make kids believe that they are strong enough to tackle this issue, though not without the support of others, especially elders who care about them.

Become a Positive Role Model

Both the aforementioned tips can only work if we practice patience and tolerance, and most importantly, we respect people belonging to other races. We need to become role models for our kids so that they develop all these positive traits as well. Action indeed speak louder than words. We can’t really expect our kids to respect people belonging to other races unless we start doing the same. In order to save kids, be it ours or someone else’s, from becoming victims of racist bullying, we need to bring about a positive change in our own attitude and behavior first.