What we teach (or don't teach) our kids.......

I've always prided myself on being colorblind.....about people. I don't judge anyone based on the color of their skin, and I've hoped that this is a trait I will pass on to my children. Today, I see that it's sticking to my 3 year old. She's in preschool. Today they were reading a book about how everyone is different. This book prompted a discussion about how some people have white Mommy's and daddy's and some have black mommy's and daddy's. Apparently the teachers let each child tell how their family was different. Soon, it was my sweet child's turn. She looked at her teachers and said, "I don't know what my Mommy is." The teacher replied, "Your mommy is white and your daddy is white too." My precious baby girl looked her right in the eye and said, "Well, actually, my daddy is black......and my mommy is purple." I'm so proud of her. She isn't changing that view either.....her 8 year old sister tried to educate her that our whole family is white, but it really doesn't matter what color you are because God loves you no matter what. My darling child said, "well, your mommy and daddy can be white, but my daddy is black and my mommy is purple." It really started me thinking about the things we teach our children without trying to teach it at all. Race has never been an issue at our house. We don't call people white or black. If I or my husband are describing someone, we usually say something to the effect of , "you know the guy with the brown eyes that wore that blue shirt today"...or something like that. I have a cousin who is married to an African-American man and they have bi-racial children, but I'm not sure my children have ever noticed. They've never said anything if they have. Maybe, without trying, I'm actually getting something that is important to me to stick to my children. Now if I could just teach them that yelling at each other is a bad idea, I'd really be doing something.