Do Chinese Canadian Parents Discuss Anti-Asian Racism with Their Children and How? a Qualitative Inquiry

Background and Purpose: Given a reprehensible impact of racism on the socioemotional development of racialized children, parents can be a critical resource for helping children to make sense and develop strategies in dealing with racism. However, literature has suggested that the dialogue around race and racism has been limited among Asian American families (Young et al., 2021). Guided by anti-racist perspective, the study focuses on Chinese parents in Canada, and aims to understand whether and how Chinese Canadian parents communicate with their children on matters related to race and anti-Asian racism (AAR).

Methods: A total of 56 Chinese Canadian parents (Mean age 42.6 years; 76.8% mothers) who have at least one child younger than 18 years old were recruited from a range of social networks across Canada and participated in a focus group based on their preferred language. A total of 16 groups (6 in Cantonese, 6 in Mandarin, and 3 in English) were conducted in Spring 2022. The research transcribed all group interviews verbatim. Reflexive thematic analysis (Braum & Clarke, 2019, 2022) and its six steps were used to analyze study data as it allowed us to make meaning of the study data through deep and prolonged data immersion and reflection.

Results: Our analysis suggests that while some parents do talk to their children about race and AAR, the majority do not. When parents discuss racism with their children, they often come from a colour-blind perspective or normalize the existence of AAR. Some parents understand the vocabulary of “racism” to be used to describe blatant racist acts, and thus find it difficult to recognize and name the less overt forms of racism. Moreover, as parents are concerned that discussing AAR would colour their children’s worldview and affect children’s self esteem, they also avoid discussing AAR at home. Some parents worry that discussing issues related to racism would potentially reveal any biases and judgment they may have about other people of colour. Parents also share difficulties conducting age-appropriate conversations with their children on race and AAR. Many believe that the children will learn about AAR at school and know better than them. We note a difference between first- and later-generation Asian parents. Many first-generation parents believe that “things would be better” with their children as unlike them, their children grow up “Canadian,” speaking fluent English/French. While later-generation parents may better relate to their children’s experiences, these parents never had an opportunity discussing racial issues at home when growing up, and thus do not have a “helpful” model to follow.

Conclusion and Implications: Bias, discrimination and attacks to Asians are often untold and dismissed. Data from this study suggests that for Chinese Canadian parents, discussing racism can be difficult, challenging or unnecessary, thus leading AAR not discussed at home. The results underscore the need to identify appropriate strategies to further engage these parents to raise their awareness of the importance of resisting AAR and discussing such issues with their children, and to empower parents with appropriate resources and strategies.