In Shan Wee's parenting column (When A Kid Calls A Stranger 'The Fat One', Sunday Life, July 23), he says he does not mind his son calling his Indian friend Nikhil "the black one" because his son means it innocently.

It is plain wrong to call someone "the black one". I do not think his old buddy Nikhil likes it either. If he says he is okay with it, he is not telling the truth.

If left unchecked, his son's habit may develop into the kind of casual racism prevalent here. He may be four, but he is not too young to learn this.

Sriram Dhashayani