Raising Multiracial Children: Tools for Nurturing Identity in a Racialized World Paperback – 20 March 2020

Raising Multiracial Children by Farzana Nayani is an invaluable resource for parents, caretakers, educators, and anyone else interested in understanding multiracial/mixed race identity.In this book, Nayani provides practical tips on how to start difficult but necessary conversations with children. It includes history, stories, research and raises important questions and issues that multiracial people experience from early years through college and beyond. The book also contains plenty of recommendations for outside resources, including other books, festivals, toys, lesson plans, podcasts, and much more. Reading this book will equip you with the tools to help children feel seen, supported, and more confident.While I am not a parent or educator, I am multiracial and have benefitted immensely from reading this book. I experienced the book to be very healing for me as I reflected on my own journey of identity. The multiracial community is expanding, and I am thankful that Nayani has created this starting point for parents, educators, and anyone else helping children navigate the challenges of cultivating their racial/ethnic identities. I wish this book had been around for my parents and teachers when I was growing up, but I’m glad it’s here now. I am incredibly grateful to Farzana Nayani for creating this book. Thank you.

Found it incredibly useful and eye opening

I was introduced to Farzana Nayani's book when she participated in the first of SIETAR Europa Anti-Racism Learning Series "Anti-Racism for Interculturalists: A Panel Discussion." As an interculturalist who works predominantly within international higher education, and as a mother of emerging adolescents, I needed a framework and tools to address anti-racism with my colleagues, students and family. Raising Multiracial Children is the continuation of other foundational works that explore race and ethnic identity emergence and catapults us into the 21st century by addressing the specific issues and circumstances faced by multiracial children and the adults who care about and for them. This is one of the fastest growing populations and being able to offer positive examples and inclusive identity development environments it a must.Nayani provides a solid theoretical framework, that of the Mitchell Hammer's Intercultural Development Continuum (IDC), based on Milton Bennett's Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), to help assess adult readiness to engage in meaningful dialogue about race. She also provides valuable examples of how to address race within K-12 and university, and specifically with regards to multiracial children. I have made notes and dogeared so many pages of the book. I plan to start using the tools she has made available right away in my trainings with staff and students. What I specifically enjoy is the breadth of the information as well as the specific examples for reflection, action, lesson plans, and recommended resources.

This book is challenging me to inquire deeply into the messaging I received about race as a child and young adult. As a multiracial mother of 2 multiracial children, I now feel more confident in initiating race conversations and listening & responding to my children's questions about race. I'm so happy that Farzana wrote this book to give parents resources and the courage to have these conversations, which I was not encouraged to have in my own multiracial home growing up. My parents always focused on what the two sides had in common and brushed aside their differences. Today, I'm empowered to partner with my white husband to begin these conversations now, between us and together as a family. He's now begun to read the book himself.

I absolutely LOVE this book. It’s an excellent resource for parents, carers, teachers and just generally anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the mixed experience and mixed identity. I think it should be mandatory reading for all teachers and expectant parents to mixed heritage children.Farzana shares so much lived wisdom and knowledge, including practical tips on how to talk with children about race, questions you can ask to start a conversation and much, much more.I’m based in UK and initially worried the nuances on race in US VS UK might mean the book didn’t quite reflect our lives but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Farzana quotes many case studies from around the world and gives a holistic account of possible experiences, feelings and how to challenge thinkings. This really is an excellent book- you won’t regret buying it. We have a community on IG called FamiliesLikeOurs and Farzana’s book helps inform so much of what we’re about. Thank you Farzana x