Mum's video of her daughters playing with their dolls has gone viral

 

A mum has posted a video about the importance of children playing with dolls that represent different races.

 

Katie Nachman posted a video on her Facebook page of her two little girls happily playing with their new Christmas toys – the Black American Girl doll – in response to a disgusting video she saw where a laughing mum videos her kids crying because they got black dolls.

 

And while the video has since been deleted, Katie was compelled to share her own experience.

 

“Meanwhile, in Wisconsin,” she wrote, “these two little white girls got Black American girl dolls for Christmas, and were positively thrilled, so I thought I'd make a little replacement video right quick. Since December 25th these two have been carried around non-stop, changed in and out of outfits constantly, and lovingly put to bed every night. 

 

“So as a white mom with white kids, why not buy dolls that look like them? Well, they do have white dolls. We also have Hispanic and Asian dolls. But I think it's important for my kids to have dolls who don't look like them because for one, it teaches them that all skin colors [sic] are beautiful. Two, it demolishes the expectation that in order to love someone, care about someone, be a friend or play with someone, the other person has to look like you.”

 

And the video is the perfect example of how racism is taught or learned – and not inherent. When asked by their mum why they liked their dolls so much the colour of their skin never came into it.

Instead they innocently answered: “They come with clothes!” and “I like how they look” and “They have hair and they have eyes!”

 

 

Katie’s reflective, measured post is a great reminder that if we are to grow into an equal society lessons on race must begin at home. Providing our children with diverse dolls is an amazingly effective tool to promote love and equality from an early age.