Impact On Professional Practice 

Experiencing racism as an early childhood professional can increase a lot of hatred and mixed emotions in dealing with children of the same race that discriminates against you. Racism can make a person feel less of themselves and seen as an outcast because of low expectations. According to Shonkoff et al., 2021, the discrimination with “-isms” can lead to negative emotional and mental well-being in children and their families. Being an early childhood professional and having to work with children and their families can affect their mental, social, emotional, psychological and developmental life. With this it can cause a lot of stress and anxiety situations lasting a lifetime.

         Early childhood professional plays a big part in when it comes to preventing different forms of discrimination against children in their care. Children will experience different kind of discrimination, which tends to affect their developmental and emotional well-being (Saleem et al., 2020). When children are faced with discrimination as an early childhood professional we should address it as quick as possible not leaving it as dust under the rug causing more chaos. 

References

Saleem, F. T., Anderson, R. E., & Williams, M. (2020). Addressing the “myth” of racial trauma: Developmental and ecological considerations for youth of color. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 1-14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10567-019-00304-1

Shonkoff, J. P., Slopen, N., & Williams, D. R. (2021). Early childhood adversity, toxic stress, and the impacts of racism on the foundations of health. Annual Review of Public Health, 42, 115-134. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-101940