Raising Biracial or Multicultural Children
The good news has to do with the changes reflected in present and future generations when it comes to multiculturalism in general and biracial children in particular. In a world united by mass media, especially evident in today's music, film, and Internet, kids increasingly think beyond the racial and ethnic barriers of the past.
This doesn't mean your biracial child will not encounter racism or that your child of mixed cultural or religious heritage won't also be sometimes met with prejudice, but it does offer hope and the reassurance in light of the quickly changing demographics of the United States, which point to the nation having a majority population that is multicultural and nonwhite by 2050.
Fact
Today's under-thirty generation is much more open to biracial dating and intermarriage than their parents and grandparents. In one recent online survey of Gen Y attitudes, 91 percent said interracial dating is okay. More than one-fifth of Americans have a close relative married to someone of another race.
Issues may arise in your immediate family and have more impact on you as parents when your children are biracial or multicultural. A child may, as he matures, elect one or neither of his parents' religious faiths. He may choose to assimilate completely and eschew observances of any ethnic or religious flavor. These choices may be very difficult for you or your in-laws to accept. Compromise may or may not be possible, especially with an adolescent or young adult child. Acceptance is your best route as a parent.
