TikTok has 'goosebumps' over mom's 'difficult' conversation with kids

A Korean-American mom is going viral on TikTok after sharing how she and her young kids have been having difficult conversations about racism.

Jane Park recently filmed herself talking to her 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son about the #StopAsianHate movement. She said she hopes that by sharing the conversation, she can help other parents learn how to talk to their kids about the rise in anti-Asian violence and racism in the U.S.

On Park’s TikTok page, she has a series of videos in which she gives her kids sight word tests. In a clip from January, the mom had her kids read out a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “The time is always ripe to do right.” Afterward, she discussed the quote with her children.

“Now THAT is education,” one TikTok user commented.

Park used the same tactic following the mass murder of six Asian women in Atlanta on March 16. “I grieve and stand with my #AAPIFamily as I have more difficult conversations with my kids,” Park captioned her video.

“Ready for another sight word test?” she asked at the beginning of the video. “There’s a message in this one, so I want you to think about it, OK?”

Together, the two young kids read out: “Stop Asian hate. Hate is a virus.”

“Why would we call hate a virus?” Park asked her kids.

“Because viruses infect people,” one of them replied.

“We talked about recent acts of violence against Asian Americans,” she said. “How did that make you feel?”

“Sad,” one of them answered. “They killed people. They killed Asian people.”

“We can speak out against it. We can talk about it,” Park added. “We can build awareness, right? Because not everyone might know what’s going on.”

The commenters were in awe of Park’s tactic.

“It’s such a difficult conversation to have with your kids,” one commenter wrote. “Sadly [it] is needed.”

“This was an amazing way to educate the youth,” another added.

“I’ve got goosebumps,” another wrote. “The way she opened the real world to her children, even though they are still young, wow.”

In a follow-up TikTok, the Seattle mom also shared resources to help parents more discuss anti-Asian racism with their kids.

If you or someone you know needs support after experiencing race-related bias, discrimination or violence, contact Asian Americans Advancing Justice at (202) 296-2300 or contact the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at 212-549-2500. You can also connect with a Crisis Text Line counselor at no charge by texting the word “HOME” to 741741. Find a local therapist prioritizing racial justice and liberation through the Inclusive Therapists directory.

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