Black Parents’ Rationales for Using Specific Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices With Their Young Children

Existing literature shows Black parents’ preference for using certain ethnic-racial socialization strategies (e.g., cultural socialization, egalitarianism) over others (e.g., preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust) with their young children. We sought to understand parents’ utilization of, and rationales for using, specific ethnic-racial socialization practices with their young children. We conducted focus groups with 26 Black parents of children ages five and under. Researchers generated the following themes through reflexive thematic analysis: reasons for cultural socialization, reasons for silence about race, reasons for preparation for bias, and reasons against promotion of mistrust with young children. Most parents emphasized young children’s racial awareness, self-confidence, feelings of equality, diverse friendships, positivity, and discernment of individual qualities as reasons for using cultural socialization and egalitarianism while avoiding using preparation for bias and promotion of mistrust. Whereas a few parents highlighted the importance of building children’s knowledge and providing comprehensive socialization as reasons for using preparation for bias with young children.