Age-Appropriate Anti-Racism Resources for 5 Year Olds: What Actually Works
The rain was misting our jackets as we waited for our turn in the preschool pickup line last month, my 5-year-old Lila twisting a faded princess sticker on the side of her water bottle. Out of nowhere she said, “Mia told me my curly brown hair is too dark to be a princess today.” I wiped a raindrop off my cheek and fumbled for a response. I knew this moment was coming, but I wasn’t sure I had the right tools to talk about it. That night I sat down at my laptop and typed exactly what I’d been putting off searching for: anti-racism resources for 5 year olds.
What came up surprised me. Most results were either dense nonfiction books for middle schoolers, long thinkpieces for parents about why anti-racism work matters, or fluffy picture books that acted like skin color and difference don’t exist at all. I’d heard too many stories of kids picking up unfair ideas when adults refuse to talk about difference, so I checked out a thick hardcover from the library a few days later that started talking about 19th century slavery on page three. By page five, Lila was asking if we could get mint chocolate chip after story time. She had no frame of reference for that kind of history yet, and the whole thing felt overwhelming for both of us. That’s when I realized I’d been looking for the wrong kind of resources. I texted my friend who teaches preschool at a local public school, asked her what she uses in her classroom, and she sent me a short, messy list that I’ve tested over the last month to see what sticks for a 5 year old’s brain that’s still learning to count to 20 and tie its own shoes.
The first thing that stuck was short, story-driven picture books, not preachy lesson books. The Skin You Live In is only 32 pages, rhymes, and compares different skin tones to things 5 year olds actually know: different shades of cookies, coffee, tan linen, caramel. No big words, no heavy history, just a simple story that says every skin is good, and it’s okay to notice what makes us different. We read it three nights in a row after Lila’s princess comment, and after the second night she got out her crayons and drew a picture of her and Mia, both in princess dresses, one with dark brown hair and one with blonde. Hair Love is another one that works—it’s just a sweet story about a dad learning to do his Black daughter’s hair, no lectures, just a family being a family. Last Stop on Market Street is great too, it talks about noticing how different people live, and finding joy in what you have, which ties into fairness without hitting you over the head. I’ve learned to avoid any book that’s more than 40 pages or has more than two sentences of text per page for this age; anything longer and they check out.
Non-book resources are just as important, and most of them are cheap or free. The $12 pack of Crayola Colors of the World crayons I picked up at Target changed our art table. Before, Lila only ever used the peach crayon for every person she drew. Now she picks a deep brown for herself, a lighter tan for her dad, and a golden shade for her grandma, and she’ll talk through why she picked each one as she draws. It’s a small thing, but it gives her a way to talk about difference naturally, without me having to start an awkward big conversation. I printed out free diverse hair play dough mats from a preschool teacher’s blog, and Lila loves cutting and styling “hair” out of play dough on the different face outlines. For screen time, Sesame Street has a handful of 5-minute YouTube videos about race and inclusion that are perfectly pitched—they use simple words, show kids playing, and talk about how it’s okay to ask questions about differences. The National Association for the Education of Young Children also has a free list of developmentally appropriate activities on their website, things like trying different snacks from different cultural backgrounds or drawing your family and talking about what makes your family unique.
I used to think anti-racism resources for little kids had to be big, important books that teach all the history all at once. But what I’ve learned is that 5 year olds don’t think in systems. They think about being allowed to be a princess, about what color crayon to use, about who gets to play on the slide. They notice difference the second they’re in a room with other kids—pretending we don’t see color just teaches them it’s a taboo topic, not that it’s okay to talk about. The right resources for this age are the ones that give them simple language to talk about difference and fairness at their level, not force them to process things they’re not developmentally ready for.
I still mess it up sometimes. Last week, Lila pointed to a man at the grocery store and asked why his skin was so much darker than mine, and I almost shushed her out of awkwardness before I caught myself. I just said, “People’s skin comes in all different shades, just like these apples we’re buying. Some are red, some are green, all of them are good,” and she nodded and went back to asking for gummy bears. I still put back books that are too heavy—last week I checked out a picture book about Ruby Bridges that ended up scaring Lila, talking about people yelling at kids going to school, so I put it on the top shelf to pull out when she’s 8 or 9. I haven’t got this all figured out, and I’m still looking for new small things to add to our rotation. But right now, these little, low-fuss resources are working. We don’t need big formal lessons to teach our 5 year olds that everyone deserves to be a princess, no matter what their hair or skin looks like. We just need simple, honest tools that meet them where they are.
Please indicate: Thinking In Educating » Age-Appropriate Anti-Racism Resources for 5 Year Olds: What Actually Works