Pride with Kids

{Sara Arnold}

Kids love Pride.  What’s not to love?  There are rainbows everywhere and shiny happy people covered in glitter and with fun hair, clothes, and makeup.

Small Pride events like the parade and rally of Bolton Pride, specifically family-friendly and youth Pride like Out Metrowest in Framingham, medium-sized events like Worcester and Fitchburg, or even large events like Boston all call for some pre-planning with children. There are some general rules which apply to all types of Pride events.

Bring copious amounts of water and ways to cool and refill them as well as numerous non-perishable snacks and ample sunscreen.  Yeah, I know you know this from going to multi-day festivals before kids.  You haven’t *really* learned this until you have cranky, hungry, and thirsty children in the hot sun. Bring a backpack.  Let security search it, but it’s better than trying to hold on to everything you brought with you for the kids, and every piece of swag everyone hands them.

People think kids at Pride are adorable, especially if they dress up for it.  Everyone will be handing your kids free stuff. None of it will ever be inappropriate like the homophobes think but it may make you wonder if your kids will become packrats or hoarders because So. Much. Swag. Costumes look cute, but comfy clothes layers like sweatshirts, t-shirts, and rainbow shorts or leggings will keep the day both fashionable and weather-appropriate.  Accessorizing can help if you have a place to put it (especially jewelry) when they inevitably come off of kids under 12.  Bring your own flags of various sizes. This can also help with comfortable clothing matching with a parent or guardian, which is harder to do with costumes, and with tweens or teens who want absolutely nothing to do with you at Pride because you’re soooooo cringe OMG.

If you’ve got really little ones, bring a stroller. People without kids telling you not to bring a stroller to Pride because it’s inconvenient? They’re lying to you -- it’s only inconvenient for them to try to get past you with their big-ass wings on. You’re going to need it for your massive diaper bag and all the kid accouterments you’re going to bring with you and then pick up along the way, and for occasional conking out of toddlers.  

I do mean kids will have all of the fun Pride stuff that you’ll purchase and all the free swag I previously mentioned, but I also mean things like pretty, cool, or interesting rocks and the handfuls of glitter your kid somehow found or was given and blew all over everything in your stroller basket.

Of course, on a serious note -- when going to any event, make sure your children of any age know how to find trusted adults like an event official, police officer, or first aider and that you’ve identified a spot to reconvene if you get separated (especially good for older kids that may be allowed to go off on their own at times).

And then there are the tips that vary depending on size.

Small Pride parades and rallies are my favorites. They’re usually full of local kids and families from area towns, and the booths at their events are regional organizations me and mine always want to learn about.

Plan to spend the whole day there at events like Bolton Pride or Out Metrowest’s Pride festival. It’s easy to chill, be active, or both, whatever works best for your own family. If they’ve got a parade, definitely do it for the feeling of a sense of close community.  

For small and youth-centered events, bring cash for raffles. I’m not saying my family has a tactic for winning raffles, but I’m not saying we don’t. Even if you don’t win anything, the organizations the raffles benefit are always LGBTQIA+ organizations local to the area, usually that support mental health or youth, and often are run on small budgets. 

At medium and larger Pride events, unless all of your kids are teenagers or tweens that fancy themselves akin to teenagers, or are babies who can sleep through absolutely everything (if those exist), plan on spending up to several hours, but not the whole day. A full day of Pride can be an overwhelming sensory overload for anyone, but especially small children.

While at the big Pride festivals, encourage your children to notice the diversity of the wider queer community.  Introduce them to new music, but bring earplugs as little ears are sensitive to damage even at outdoor concerts. Follow their lead on how big of a crowd they’re willing to deal with. March in the Parade, be a spectator on the sidelines, or try doing both.

Especially with little kids, don’t have expectations that you’re going to see every performer, hear every speaker, or even check out every booth. You might end up sitting on the lawn eating from the food vendors while your kid plays with the dog of a nice same-sex couple for (what feels like) hours.

You might have a kid who wants to see everything, particularly as they get older, but even pre-teens and teens will need breaks. You might feel FOMO, but better to not do something at Pride and make happy memories with your children they’ll have for a lifetime.

Also, it can be a lot more fun to take their lead and see Pride through their eyes.

After any Pride, communicate with your kids about it. Ask them what their favorite things were and what they disliked, if they have any questions you can answer (and there are always age-appropriate answers), what they’d like to see and do next year at the same event or at a different event, and [more].  Always keep the lines of communication open.

Happy Pride!