Niggled. Anyone know?
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  1. #1
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    Default Niggled. Anyone know?

    Today I went to a rhyme time with my 2 little mindees. The little girl 2yr 2 mo, is really into babies and was following a baby of around 9 months. She sat with him playing with a tamborine and then hit him on the head . I immediately brought her to me and asked what she did and she announced to me and another minder that she "hit the brown baby on the head". I went on to explain to her that we mustn't hit babies, we have to be nice to the baby and the baby is small, will get upset, will be hurt, etc. She then went to the baby and mum and said and signed sorry. When I went back to my seat the other minder was shocked that my mindee had said "brown baby" and insisted that at that at that age a child would not recognise skin colour and seemed pretty disgusted at my mindee. The little girl is very hot on colours at the moment and is pointing out every colour she sees, she walked in today and noticed I've changed the colour in my kitchen, pointing out my red microwave/kettle/toaster etc and telling me before it was silver. To me she has done nothing wrong and has not said this in a malicious/racist way, but the other minder seemed really put out by it and said that a child of that age would not see skin colour, and I suppose the fact I never said anything. But I don't feel in this instance that there is anything to say. It wasn't a racist or offensive comment. Am I wrong?

  2. #2
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    No different from saying the baby with the red hair, or freckles, or big ears

    Bless her she is only 2 and i suppose he did have brown skin, so nothing wrong with that.
    we dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing

  3. #3
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    Some children are able to notice and name colours earlier than others, your lo sounds very switched on, she just said it as she saw it Definetly nothing untoward about her comment in my opinion.

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    Thanks, I just felt awful, but I didn't see anything at all, she IS very alert and concious of anything and everything, especially colour at the moment. She told me today she wants a purple something or other cos it woud match the cardi she was wearing. Thats her THING at the moment.
    The childrens centre we visit has children and adults of all different races and so it was never about her suddenly recognising a different race or anything, it literally was noticeing the colour. If I put fake tan on this weekend she'd say something.

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    Your minder friend is way over reacting, your mindee didn't say anything racist!! This how often how kids express themselves, no matter what colour they themselves are.

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    Thanks all, yeah she is very observant, she is fab and she is so funny at times. At the rhyme time, the lady doing the rhyme time asked her what body parts she wanted for the song and she asked the lady if she liked her cardi!! She will come in and point out I have a slide in and tell me she has pigtails. And like I said today she was so funny when she was pointing out the change of colour scheme in my kitchen and saying how her mummys kitchen things are green.
    It was just that I explained that I felt that it wasn't about her being aware of him having different skin colour, she didn't mention that, she literally said what she saw. And I was trying to get over that if she is able to identify colours then she is going to see the colour but my friend I think was MAYBE confusing this with the LO noticing difference in skin colour. She never mentioned that it literally was the colour.

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    My dd came home from nursery and said that x was her best friend.

    I asked what she liked about him and she said his brown face.......she has also told me that she likes y's long hair and z's new red shoes.

    She says what she see's and is too young to know about racism. Its the other cm that has the problem in my opinion. People have gone way to pc friendly.

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    I don't think there was anything racist in your mindees comment at all - she was saying what she saw, a baby with brown skin. Don't worry about it.

    Miffy xx
    Keep smiling!

  9. #9
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    I'd be more concerned about your overly anxious overly PC colleague to be honest. It sounds like she is blowing hot air about things she 'has learned' and applying it to a 2yr old.

    Think your colleague could do well with some additional training

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    Agree with the others
    In my opinion if you had said something to her about NOT mentioning peoples skin colour that would make it seem to her like there was a problem with people having brown skin. She said nothing wrong in my opinion.

    xxxx

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    my daughter when she was younger would refer to people as a colour according to what they were wearing! she would refer to a pink lady or a brown boy etc, she merely meant they were wearing that colour clothing but obviously i knew that but others didnt!! one time we were on the bus going into to town centre and a young black lad got on who also happened to be wearing black clothes, she was so busy looking at his ipod and was staring, she took a breath to say something and i knew what was about to come....i had to quickly stop her her from saying anything as i thought that would not go down well!! my daughter wasnt and isnt racist, as others have said she didnt notice anyones skin colour just their clothes!! think the other minder needs to chill a little, and get off the p.c gone mad bus!

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    my just 5 (last week) white daughter loves our baby mindee whose mum is black and dad is white. She kept stroking his arm when mum dropped him off and saying "I loves Xs brown skin". I went through the we all have different skin etc and although Xs skin is brown we would say he is black etc but she kept doing it - only in front of his mum and I ended up getting all upset and apologising to mum who basiscally told me I was daft and she was glad that my daughter loved her baby!
    Thank goodness for reasonable people

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    There was something on TV last night and there was a white woman with a black baby and my daughter says

    "Why is that baby a different colour, they should be the same colour as its mummy. Like me and H have the same colour of skin like you"

    When I explained to her that they didn't have to have the same colour of skin to be a family she says

    "Just like when doggies have babies and they can sometimes have kittens instead of puppies"

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    Ive had a similar sayinf from my mindee who was around the same age. I was walking with 2 people and when they had gone she askd me who the lady with the brown face was.
    Kids that age are very interested in colour and also they are too young to understand the world and the racist comments that ignorant people say. I really wouldnt worry about the comment and your friend over reacted in my opinion, but dont blame her as these days we have to tread very carefully. Even the slightest word is often blown out of proportion.

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    This is where pc is going mad, your mindee saw a colour and named it she did not say any thing offensive or racist, tell your friend to get a grip and wind her neck in

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajs View Post
    This is where pc is going mad, your mindee saw a colour and named it she did not say any thing offensive or racist, tell your friend to get a grip and wind her neck in
    Couldn't agree more

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    I think that your friend should consider whether her finding describing a brown person as being brown 'offensive' is in itself offensive!
    Does she see being described as 'brown' or 'black' as a derogatory comment? No matter who makes it! Its not as if the little girl said she hit the brown baby over the head because he is brown! She was merely stating a fact that she had observed the colour of his skin. Your lass sounds like a smashing girl!
    Just out of interest what did your minder friend expect you to say? her making an issue out of it would just point out peoples differences in a negative way surely?

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    One of my oldest friends is a black jamaican lady, while we worked together in a nursery she and another (white) nursery nurse had the same surname. The children would often refer to my friend as 'the brown mrs. W'. She didnt take offence or find this a racist comment

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    aww i think she is very clever little 2 year old, my 4 year olds best friend this week is the boy with the brown face , he's just saying what he sees and means no harm at all xx

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    My littl'un informed me that his new friend had a brown face - to match his hair, and that he was in fact brown all over (fits of giggles). I thought it best not to ask whether he's checked!

 

 
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