What Is Prejudice?

Ages 3-5 Simple Explanation

You know how sometimes you might think you won't like a food before you even try it? Like maybe you see something green on your plate and say 'Yuck!' before you taste it? That's a little bit like what prejudice is, but with people instead of food.

Prejudice is when someone decides they don't like another person before they even talk to them or play with them. Maybe they think, 'I don't want to play with that kid because they look different from me.' That's not fair, because they don't even know that person yet!

Everyone is different, and that's a good thing. Some kids have different skin colors, some speak different languages, and some wear different clothes. Prejudice is when someone thinks those differences are bad, even though differences are what make the world interesting.

The good news is, we can all fight prejudice by being friendly to everyone and getting to know people before we decide anything about them. When you play with someone new at school and find out they're really fun, you're beating prejudice!

Ages 6-8 More Detail

The word prejudice comes from two parts: 'pre,' which means before, and 'judge.' So prejudice literally means judging someone before you know anything about them. It's like giving someone a grade on a test they haven't even taken yet — that wouldn't be fair, would it?

Prejudice happens when people make assumptions about someone based on things like their skin color, their religion, where their family comes from, or whether they're a boy or a girl. For example, if someone thinks 'girls can't be good at sports' without ever watching a girl play, that's prejudice.

Prejudice can really hurt people. Imagine if someone decided they didn't want to be your friend just because of what you look like, before they even knew your name or what you like to do. That would feel terrible, right? That's how prejudice makes people feel — left out and sad for no good reason.

Sometimes people learn prejudice from other people around them. A kid might hear a grownup say something unfair about a group of people, and the kid might start believing it too, even though it's wrong. That's why it's important to think for yourself and question ideas that seem unfair.

The opposite of prejudice is keeping an open mind. That means giving everyone a fair chance and getting to know people as individuals. You might find that the person you almost judged turns out to be your best friend.

Ages 9-12 Full Explanation

Prejudice means forming an opinion about someone before you have any real facts about who they are. The word itself breaks down into 'pre' (before) and 'judice' (judgment). When someone is prejudiced, they've already made up their mind about a person based on something like race, religion, gender, or where they're from — none of which tell you anything about who that person actually is.

Think about it this way: if a new kid showed up at your school, and before they even said a word, some students decided they were weird just because they dressed differently or had an accent, that would be prejudice in action. The new kid never got a fair chance. People formed an opinion based on surface-level stuff instead of real experience.

Prejudice often gets passed down like a bad habit. Kids might hear their family members or friends say unfair things about a group of people, and over time, they might start believing it without ever questioning it. TV shows, movies, and social media can also spread prejudice by showing certain groups of people in a negative or unfair way over and over again.

The tricky thing about prejudice is that everyone has some of it, even if they don't realize it. You might catch yourself making a snap judgment about someone and then think, 'Wait, I don't actually know anything about this person.' The important thing is to notice when it happens and choose to be fair instead.

Fighting prejudice starts with something pretty simple: being curious about other people instead of afraid of differences. When you actually talk to someone from a different background, you almost always find out you have more in common than you thought. Schools, sports teams, and clubs that bring together all kinds of kids are some of the best ways to break down prejudice.

Standing up against prejudice also means speaking up when you hear someone say something unfair about a group of people. You don't have to start a fight — sometimes just saying 'That's not true' or 'That's not fair' is enough to make people think twice. One voice can make a big difference.