Our girls deserve to know about this world that they live in. They deserve to know about the things that impact them. This is why I love all that American Girl is doing right now to reach girls in a way that is signifying to them. 

Today’s guest, Deanna Singh, partnered with American Girl on a project with this same purpose. This summer, she came out with a book in collaboration with them called A Smart Girl’s Guide to Race and Inclusion. Deanna is also a speaker who does some incredible work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. She hosts virtual summits where she trains individuals and organizations on how to be an ally.

In this episode, Deanna and I discuss this book that she collaborated on with American Girl and many of the diversity and inclusion lessons within it. She also shares some great practical methods for talking to kids about these topics from her extensive experience. Tune in to learn more and start bringing race and inclusion into your family discussions.

Show Highlights:

• Why Deanna decided to write a book for middle grades and partnered with American Girl.
• Some of her background as a biracial woman.
• Why it’s so important to have conversations with our kids about race.
• How being a kid and growing up is hard work.
• The differences and similarities between talking about race and inclusion with middle schoolers and adults.
• How scaffolding and storytelling help when having these kinds of conversations with our kids.
• The “inner radio” analogy Deanna uses to teach kids about their internal voice.
• Why privilege isn’t a bad thing but must be flipped for good. 
• How parents can be allies.

Links (affiliates included):

A Smart Girl’s Guide Race & Inclusion – https://www.americangirl.com/shop/p/a-smart-girls-guide-race-and-inclusion-book-hcf40

Parenting After Religious Trauma Membership – https://cindy-brandt.mykajabi.com/partmembership

Help keep the podcast going by joining the Parenting Forward Patreon Team – https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt

Parenting Forward, the Book – https://amzn.to/3g0LJPn1Little

You Are Revolutionary – https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506478302/You-Are-Revolutionary