Why Are You Making Everything About Race?

Why Are You Making Everything About Race?

That question comes up a lot—especially from parents who are trying to do the “right” thing and don’t want to confuse, scare, or divide their kids.

In this episode of Don’t Screw Up Your Kids, we slow the conversation down and actually unpack that question.

Because the truth is: children are learning about race far earlier than most adults realize—often before parents ever say a word. And what kids learn doesn’t come only from schools or social media. It comes from observation, silence, culture, systems, and the way the world responds to who they are.

In this episode, former educator and parent Kaleesha Washington breaks down:

• When children become aware of race (by age and developmental stage)

• The difference between culture and race, and why culture usually comes first

• How race enters a child’s world when culture is questioned, judged, or punished

• Why different families talk about race at different times—and why that matters

This conversation includes a nuanced, age-based look at how race and culture are experienced across communities, including:

• Black families

• White families

• Latino/Hispanic families

• Asian / Asian Pacific Islander families

• Native American / Indigenous families

Rather than treating race as a political issue, this episode centers child development, parental leadership, and lived reality. It challenges the idea that silence protects children and explores what silence actually teaches instead.

This is not an episode about blame.
It’s not about shaming parents.
And it’s not about telling families what to think.

It is about helping parents understand what is already shaping their children—and how to stay present, grounded, and intentional instead of reactive later.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• “Are my kids too young for this conversation?”

• “Am I making a big deal out of nothing?”

• “Why does race keep coming up?”

• “What happens if I don’t say anything at all?”

This episode is for you.

Because parents don’t lose influence all at once.
We lose it when we stay silent while everyone else is talking.