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Directions: Review children’s understanding and development of racial identity at various ages.

6 months:

• Find skin color and gender differences interesting

18 months:

• Can correctly place a photograph of themselves in their racial or ethnic group

2 years:

• Notice and begin asking questions about differences
• Begin absorbing social stereotypes, attitudes, and biases about themselves and people different from themselves
• Begin to show discomfort or fear or even dislike toward a person with a different skin color, different language, or with a physical disability

4 years:

• Seek labels for racial and ethnic identity
• Have own theories about what causes a disability, skin tone or gender
• Beliefs greatly influenced by adult verbal and nonverbal responses
• Understand that name calling and teasing about a person’s looks, gender, background is unfair

5 years:

• Have developed a core sense of racial and ethnic identity
• Begin to explore what it means to be from one race compared to another
• Take cues from what the socioeconomic makeup of groups and institutions tells them about who makes decisions, who is in leadership positions, who has access to resources
• Revelations begin to affect their sense of group and individual identity

6-8 years:

• Can and do describe worth, happiness and wealth in concrete terms
• See themselves as a member of a racial group
• Continue to gain information (correct and incorrect) about human differences
• Continue to develop feelings about human differences
• Begin to acknowledge many aspects of their identity (gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc.)
• Capable of making judgments about equity, unfairness, privilege
• Begin to voice as “truths” the stereotypes and biases they have been taught

9-10 years:

• Attitudes have solidified
• For some, it will take life-changing experiences to challenge them to rethink and change their beliefs and behaviors

Source: Derman-Sparks, L. (n.d). Stages of Children’s Racial Identity Development.