TORONTO -- Asian-Canadians speaking with their children about anti-Asian racism should teach them cultural pride, warn them about racism before it happens, and embolden them to call it out, experts recommend.
The University of Toronto recently found reported anti-Asian racist incidents in Canada have , and because of the speed at which some of the incidents spread online, experts warn Asian parents to prepare their children for it.
鈥淲hat we tell parents is to control what they鈥檙e watching [on] social media. [Children] are more savvy, they鈥檒l see it before we will,鈥� Catherine Vuky, an assistant clinical psychology professor at William James College and director of the Massachusetts college鈥檚 Asian Mental Health program, said during an expert panel discussion on 麻豆影视 Channel.
She told 麻豆影视 Channel that 鈥渘ow more than ever鈥� Asian-Canadian parents should be speaking with their children about racism and discrimination, and create a safe space for them to speak about what they may have experienced.
鈥淥ftentimes, we find that our Asian parents tend not to have these type of conversations but what I hear from the kids is, they鈥檙e scared. And they want to talk about it.鈥�
Anti-Asian hate attacks have skyrocketed across the U.S. and Canada. In 2020, reported attacks spiked across the country, including in , and . A of more than 500 Chinese-Canadians found half were called names or insulted because of the outbreak, while 43 per cent said they've been threatened or intimidated.
Vuky, who helped develop a multilingual guide for Asian-Canadian parents, said to encourage younger children to write down or draw what they鈥檙e feeling because they might not be able to articulate their thoughts with words.
, a group of professors from the University of Victoria helped create an to help them navigate through the complexities of systemic oppression in Canada and their own racial identities. Meanwhile in Toronto, educators have been for teachers to have tough but needed conversations.
Vuky noted that these conversations shouldn鈥檛 only be done in reaction to racist incidents or news reports. She said, especially when it comes to younger children, Asian-Canadian parents needed to get out ahead of racist incidents by building up pride in their cultural background.
鈥淚 think if we have natural conversations in our everyday lives, we can instill that resilience and the confidence in our kids.鈥�
She noted the discussing racism and even cultural identity can be used to 鈥渢alk about what it鈥檚 like to be different or to look differently and celebrate the differences -- celebrate our own culture versus looking at all the negatives.鈥�
Jan Wong, the co-founder of the Asian Canadian Women's Alliance, agreed wholeheartedly and said that it鈥檚 important to facilitate these conversations so children 鈥渁ren鈥檛 blindsided.鈥�
She told 麻豆影视 Channel when her now-adult sons were young children she didn鈥檛 have that talk initially 鈥渂ecause I thought Canada was this wonderful, harmonious, multi-cultural place.鈥�
But that changed after Wong鈥檚 then-four-year-old son was bullied by several other children at a park because of his race. 鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 talk. He was so upset,鈥� she said, noting that she wished she 鈥渃ould鈥檝e prepared him for less of a shock.鈥�
Looking back, Wong said she would鈥檝e encouraged her child 鈥渢hat you don鈥檛 have to take it passively鈥� and to talk back to the other children, conveying that it wasn鈥檛 right.
She likened Asian-Canadian parents having early preemptive talks about racism to how most caregivers and teachers preemptively speak to children about consent when it comes to hugging or inappropriate touching, and how to tell other adults or teachers if something is making them feel uncomfortable.
鈥淵ou have to inoculate your kids before it happens.鈥�
