How To Talk To Kids About Race/Racism

Date Aired: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 | 5:00pm to 6:00pm (PST)

Presenter: Sheila Modir, PhD, Pediatric Psychologist, CHOC Project HEALTH

Presenter Bio: Dr. Sheila Modir is a pediatric psychologist at CHOC Children’s Project HEALTH clinic and at CHOC in Mission Hospital. She obtained a combined doctoral degree in Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her master’s degree in social welfare at UCLA. Prior to coming to CHOC, Dr. Modir completed her doctoral internship at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior where she worked at the UCLA Stress, Trauma, and Resilience Clinic. Dr. Modir recently co-authored a children’s book called The Proudest Color, and continues to present at conferences and publish articles on the topic of trauma, resilience, and racial justice.

Presentation Description: A CHOC Child and Adolescent Mental Health expert will focus on teaching parents and educators developmentally appropriate ways to engage their children/students in a dialogue about race and racism. The presentation will review developmental stages that a child/student is in and ways they are able to process and understand race/racism as well as other current sociopolitical events. The presentation will conclude with a review of racial socialization as an effective buffer in moderating the deleterious effects of discrimination.