Mixed race families--friend needs advice

RondackHiker

A friend's four year old daughter is quite a bit darker than my friend.

It's starting to bother the little girl. While she has the same skin color as her dad, she regularly complains that she doesn't like her color. She says that no one else is "brown" and has wished to be lighter and a different color.

My friend is beyond crushed.

She tells her daughter that she is beautiful and shows her pictures of different family members with different skin tones, but it doesn't seem to be helping. She's been wondering if anyone knows of any books that might help her talk to her daughter about this, since she struggles to find words without crying. It's hurting her that her baby girl is hurting this way.

RondackHiker

Thanks all. I'm passing this all on.

I don't think she ever thought about dealing with her kids wishing to change their skin tone when she thought through the challenges of being in a blended family.

Spin313

I'm Latina and DH is white. DS is very dark, olive skinned; DD is more pale. For us, this hasn't been an issue. We live in a very diverse city and both kids have been exposed to white, black, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic people. They've never questioned that everyone looks different.

Does your friend live in an area where her DD can play with kids from other backgrounds...?