The best way to handle things when your child realizes that they are different, is not really wait for that moment to happen. Don't wait for some other child to tell them they are different. That should come from you and your family. They should understand they are different and why they are different, but it should come from their parents. We talk, in my family, about what it means to be mixed and the fact that they are mixed. My husband is white, and I'm African American and white. My kids are mixed race; so it won't be a surprise to them, the moment somebody tells them that they different or that they are mixed. They will already know. They will also feeling comfortable responding about their mixed race heritage.