One issue that some people have with inter-racial adoption is that Caucasian parents are unable to help an African American child understand and embrace their heritage and racial identity. We have tried very hard to make sure that every area of our lives is racially blended. We have tried to be all inclusive in our lives however there are some parts of the younger generation that I do not feel comfortable with allowing our kids to participate in.
There are some fashion trends that tend to follow racial lines that I do not feel comfortable with allowing anyone in my family to embrace. If I do not allow him to follow these trends does that mean I am depriving him of his ethnicity?
We all know that kids tend to try to dress in the same manner that their peers do. I am lucky for the most part because our school has a very strict dress code policy so what the kids wears usually is not an issue except for the weekends, after school and during the summer. George has some friends in the neighborhood that have come over to play basketball with the boys and there are some fashions trends that I see that I am just praying he does not try follow.
What can I do if George wants to do some of the things he sees them doing like the droopy pants I personally cannot understand this fashion trend, it really bothers me when I drive down the street seeing people walking holding their pants up because they are all the way down so you can see their underwear. If I was to walk around with my undies showing I would get arrested but nothing is happening to boys with their underwear hanging out.
How do I help my son understand that just because his friends are doing that he does not need to wear his pants drooping? Will he feel that I am trying to keep him from being like his friends of color?