Biracial Children: They Are Not Just One Race

I am the mother of three bi-racial children. Each of my kids have a different skin color, my son is the darkest and my youngest daughter is the lightest. This has never been a problem for them, not because they are too young to care but because it's never been made an issue.

When I was pregnant with my son I was young and confused, I listened to many people tell me that I was lucky his father was in the picture because how in the world could I raise a "black man" to be strong and secure in himself as a "black man" when I knew nothing about being black. This and many other statements from friends, classmates, and society in general made me feel that I had really made a mistake. How in the world was I going to raise this child? I was afraid because society made it out that his race was to be put down one or the other, people I knew were telling me his race needed to be put down African American since that was the race of his father, and anytime I went to fill out paperwork they automatically checked white because I was white. I wasn't sure what to think or to do and I certainly didn't know how to explain to my son what his race was.

I've learned a lot since my son was born, myself and his father are still together ten years later but I look at myself and at the man my son is becoming and I know that I would have raised him just fine alone and yes, being a white woman. I know this because I haven't raised my son to be black or white, as their parents we have raised all three of our kids to be just what they are, strong individuals. They know that they have a white mommy and a black daddy and that they are special because they have two colors inside them. That's all they need to know. There is no raising a child white or black! There isn't too much different that my fiancé does from me so how would I raise them to be a certain color?