I took these pictures two months ago to document the difference in their little bodies. Tristan is so tiny and Eden has a little wrestler body. I know she will slim down but I love it!! I don't want her to loose it too quickly. It also depicts very well what I am going to mention a little further on in my blog post.
Eden playing in the snack cupboard. 
Tristan taking his turn in the cupboard.Anything I've read says that most children do not become aware of different skin color until sometime after the age of 3. I don't know if it is because Tristan loves colors and explains everything in colors or if it is because he has a little sister with different color skin. Either way, he is already voicing that their skin is different. It really surprised me since he is only 2 1/2 and I thought he wouldn't notice for a while yet.
The first instance was a little over a week ago while I had them in the bath together. He suddenly pointed at his belly and said, "I have a white belly and Eden has a brown belly." I thought maybe it was a coincidence that he noticed that evening.
But then again last evening Mark and I were sitting at the table with Tristan and Eden and feeding them a fruit smoothie before bed. Tristan pointed at Eden and said, "Eden has a brown face." It is so sweet and innocent. I only hope that as Eden becomes aware of her different skin color that we can assure her of how perfect she is to us and that we wouldn't change her in any way. I also hope that all our children become comfortable with their differences and can be less judgemental of other people as a result. That they will learn to accept everyone - no matter if their skin looks different, if they dress different, if they have a disability, etc. I know it starts with me and I hope I can mirror to them the heart of God. That in His eyes we are all on the same "playing field". That we are all made in His image. Even with our flaws.
3 comments:
There is some interesting work that shows that kids learn about race much earlier than people previously thought. The "expert" on this is research circles is a woman called Debra Van Ausdale, who wrote a book called "The First 'R': How Children Learn Race and Racism". (I haven't read it, but it's supposed to be a great book)
She also wrote a shorter article, that I find very interesting, and it is full of very cute stories. The researcher basically spent a lot of time in a preschool, and there's some cute stuff!
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2096453
If the link doesn't work, I can send you the article as a file.
Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know about your beautiful family. We do have very similar situations. Did you adopt from AA or Tree of life?
Sounds like you have your hands full! How fun!
Look at all those cute curls!
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