All around her, she saw blue eyes and feathered blonde hair.
I was pretty much the antithesis of that, Smith-Kang tells me.
I was brown with curly, wild hair.
Smith-Kangs mother is Mexican, her father is black, and she was born in Puerto Rico.
The number of multiracial children in the United States is in the midst of a boom.
And yet talking to children about being multiracial can still be complex.
Because parents might not know what to say, they often avoid bringing up these conversations.
And that can be damaging.
So how do you bring it up?
What do you say when your daughter asks, Why dont you look like me?
Or your son tells you the kids on the playground made a remark about his skin color?
Its when we talk about all the awkward questions that other kids (and grownups!)
Its not just a one-time talk, she saysits an ongoing conversation, and it starts early.
Children as young as 1 or 2 years old understand the differences between colors and can sort and arrange.
Smith-Kang is its president.
Culturas, a women-led media and technology site creating and discovering content that celebrates culture, diversity and inclusion.
InCultureParent, an online magazine for parents raising little global citizens.
Multicultural Kid Blogs, which focuses on arts, food, language and activities for children.
Mullen has even recordedan accompanying song, which starts out: Momma looks like coffee.
Daddy looks like cream.
Baby is a mocha drop American dream.
All the colors of the rainbow are in her family tree, woven all together in a paisley tapestry.
And stay in the know.
You might join Facebook groups such asAre Those Your Kids?
But also know that its okay to not have all the answers.
Smith-Kang believes you’re able to say Lets learn together.
One way she does this is by letting her children be the teachers.
Theyre learning three languagesKorean, Spanish and Englishand they help her with Korean pronunciation and culture.
I think thats the beauty in it, she says.
We have an opportunity to learn about more cultures.
That helps keep parents from feeling like theyre going to say the wrong things.
And they might, and thats okay.
We learn, and we adapt, and we grow.
