Pride Month is here! It’s the perfect time to have those important conversations with your kids and enjoy all the parades and celebrations. Wondering how to celebrate Pride Month with your child? Well, here are a few ideas:
1. Check Out Your Local Events Together
If there are no public parades in your area, there may be smaller local celebrations that are being held all over the country. If going to these events in person is out of the question for you, you can also tune in and watch them live virtually.
2. Wear Your Pride!
This is the perfect excuse to make rainbows with your little one. Get them this adorable rainbow sweatshirt. Then get crafty with them and tackle a few colorful projects together. You can make t-shirts, wands, bracelets, cookies, and even cupcakes. The limit is your imagination!
3. Read Together
If you have been looking for a simple, child-friendly way to introduce your child to the concept of diverse families, stories are the perfect way to do it. It will also teach them about gender identities and how to overcome diversity. There are lots of recommendations for children’s books for Pride online.
4. Gather For Movie Night
Today, there are a lot of family-friendly movies, tv shows, and shorts that support gender differences and offer the perfect starting point for deeper conversations, especially with children. Pixar’s Out and In a Heartbeat are great examples of this.
5. Show Your Support
If you have older kids, hold a Pride bake sale or donate to LGBTQ charities together. There are a lot of organizations that support LGBTQ youths and teens. Doing this will empower your kids to actively show support through their efforts as they celebrate Pride Month.
6. Teach Them About LGBTQ History
Talking about LGBTQ history is an important part of celebrating Pride Month. Tell your child all about the Stonewall riots, which was one of the most important events that led to the gay liberation movement. Learning about LGBTQ history will help your child start to draw connections on how different marginalized groups of people intersect.
7. Find Age-Appropriate Ways To Discuss Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity
Depending on your child’s age, there are various ways to broach the subject of relationships and how people are attracted to each other. It may start simple and basic, focusing on ‘loving’ people in an emotional sense, but as they grow older, you can transition to what attraction is and how it can come in many different forms.
8. Support Queer Art And Businesses
Support your local queer-owned business. Read queer books, consume queer literature, music, and movies and introduce your child to them in an age-appropriate way. Get Pride and rainbow merch and wear them even when it’s not June.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, celebrating Pride with your child is all about doing what works for you. If you need to, you can even celebrate Pride right at home without ever leaving the house: just throw a dance party for you and the kids, eat rainbow cake, hang Pride flags, and talk to queer family and friends. Just be an ally!
