Are babies racist?

[Roon]

See Baby Discriminate
Kids as young as 6 months judge others based on skin color. What's a parent to do?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989?GT1=43002

[Kittycat]

1. This bullshit was posted over on a parenting site I frequent.

Babies aren't racist. Racism is a belief and mindset - Children are naturally curious and will focus (obsessively, IMO as a mother) on anything they aren't familiar with or that's covered in sparkles. It's how they learn.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Babies have a pass ,they still poop themselves ,Adults should know better.

[Ms. Toad]

3. That is not what the article said.

The title implied it, and starting at age 3 that is what the article did say.

But what the article actually said about babies was that babies make distinctions between people based on skin color. Specifically, they "stare significantly longer at photographs of faces that are a different race from their parents, indicating they find the face out of the ordinary. Race itself has no ethnic meaning per se—but children's brains are noticing skin-color differences and trying to understand their meaning."

That is a far cry from judging based on skin color.

[dalaigh lllama]

9. Seems whoever made up the title doesn't understand the connotation of "discriminate"

A baby "discriminating" between a white and black face isn't "judging."
Idjits.

[Ms. Toad]

10. Yes - but the author was sloppy, as well.

They also used discriminate in the judging sense, as well, for tests run with older children (starting at age 3). The analysis in the part I bothered to read (the first 3 pages) was so poor, I gave up on the rest. It is irresponsible to be that careless with the words and concepts - I wouldn't trust any conclusion they reached so I stopped reading after I got to the tests run on the 6 month old that didn't support what they were insinuating in the article up to that point.

[dalaigh lllama]

4. I'd say any significant difference in faces is much noted by babies

At one point in our very young son's life, his dad shaved off his mustache. Our son reacted to him as if he was a stranger for at least a day.

[omega minimo]

5. Are this flamebait?

:thumbsdown:

[xchrom]

6. babies{and toddlers} are afraid of strangers, the title pisses me off to no end.. it's stupid. nt

[BOG PERSON]

7. Are dogs racist?

http://www.slate.com/id/2079214/

[Maru Kitteh]

8. I'm not surprised to see you here.

[XemaSab]

11. I went to a perfectly integrated elementary school

The black kids hung out with each other, and the white and Asian kids hung out with each other. :(

[GivePeaceAchance]

12. Well no-one is born religious, so logically we're not born racist it is learned behavior....

We are shaped by our environment who we know and their experiences too.