Honest Beginnings: Using Explicit Language to Discuss Race and Identity with Young Children

What was it like to work at Sesame Workshop back in the day? How about Nickelodeon? As a proud Chinese American, Courtney Wong Chin was thrilled to help the companies find ways to talk about race and culture. In this episode, Chin pulls back the curtain on content creation at Noggin and Sesame Workshop. She talks about the challenge of finding language and images that are culturally specific but not confusing, and the importance of noticing and celebrating diverse identities to help build children's' self-esteem. Chin says she learned that kids’ stories work best when they’re specific enough to be authentic but not so complicated they’re overwhelming.Episode Resources:Coming Together: Family Reflections on Racism at Sesame WorkshopDiscussing Race with Young Children guide from Sparkler Learning, OK Play, and Noggin.Building Characters, Blending Cultures from EmbraceRace's 2023 Reflections on Racial LearningPanel discussion on content creation for children at the Children’s Media Career Symposium 2022, hosted by the Center for Media and Information LiteracyEarly Risers Season 6 Episode 5 Discussion Guide

Om Podcasten

George Floyd’s death was a tragedy and a wake up call — expanding a global conversation about race and racism. And young children have been watching it all. So how do we help them make sense of this? Early Risers is a podcast from Little Moments Count and MPR with frank facts, engaging stories and real how-tos for anyone who cares about raising children with a clear-eyed understanding of cultural differences, race and implicit bias. Hosted by Dianne Haulcy of The Family Partnership.