10yo Daughter wants to go to pride

Pride isn't vile, that's a vile thing to say.
Elements of some Pride festivals aren't family friendly, so you choose where you go carefully.
But Pride is amazing for the children of gay parents, in particular, to see their families celebrated as they should be. I would have no problem taking my DS to Pride and I speak as a regular GC poster.

Also, I knew I was straight when I was 4, I hate this assumption that gay children don't know their sexuality. I know it's a TRA shitstorm out there but that doesn't mean we have to man the barricades on every LGB and even T issue/question/post.

Why this urge to be labelled and Influenced? I find it amazing the way this generation have been persuaded to make themselves so wide open to advertisers. And I think we're realising now how valuable the now-lost pop and rock music scene was to children's emotional development. It's a massive chunk of British and American culture that has pretty much gone, and been replaced by this sort of introverted focus on the body.

Probably via the internet, @NotBadConsidering (sorry if I’m wrong, NeedDDadvice). I have a similar-aged family member who’s also been researching the topic via the internet - Instagram, reddit, TikTok etc, and is having similar issues with their identity. It’s unclear to me whether these particular issues started before or after finding the material online (I know what I suspect, but don’t want to make assumptions and I could be wrong). I can see the appeal of gender activism to young people on the cusp of puberty, especially ‘non-conforming’ and creative children.

I think right now you’re doing the right thing OP - talking about it with her and not banning the subject. Honestly, I would be tempted to take her to a Pride as well; I’m sure you can find a more family-friendly one as a previous poster had described (not one with pups though ) I think saying no at this point will have the opposite effect to the one you are trying to achieve.

I would however be much more attentive as to what she is accessing online (assuming that’s where she is getting info). I wouldn’t want my pre-teen on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit etc, but accept it’s a bit difficult if she already accesses these sites. Plus, I know this is easy for me to say as mine has so far shown little interest in surfing the internet - they would rather waste time playing mindless games!

Where is she getting so much information about Pride from? Where is she getting the idea that labels matter so much? It can't all be from school can it? I have a 10 year old and she basically knows that some people are gay or lesbian, and knows that the rainbow flag is both for NHS and for Pride which is linked to being gay. That's it I think really?

What on earth gas school been teaching them.

I'd email , ask to see the materials they have used and who's been in. This doesn't sound like it would be acceptable, the DofE have guidelines regarding what's to be taught and who by.

I find this obsession with getting kids ri define their sexualities at an age the only thing they should be worried about is playing outside with their friends beer disturbing.

Its just creating the confusion they claim to be the solution in solving.

I'm boggled that a 10 year old has picked up all this gender crap already.

Are they the various gender or Pride flags? How has she learned about them? I have a 9 and a half year old DD and I can’t imagine how she would know what the different flags are.

I suppose much of it will depend where you are.

I took my daughter when she was 5 to our local one- but it was very small with lots of pricey face painting stalls (more expensive than when it’s a face painting stall at a kid’s event) a thing for Momentum, a Unison stall and some “Have Your Wedding Here” stalls. I wasn’t interested let alone her. There was a stage which had a drag queen singing covers of pop songs but by then we had gone to the kid’s library which she enjoyed a lot more.

So at ours there was nothing I would not let her see but it was “boring adult stuff” rather than “inappropriate adult stuff”.

Sorry, x post OP

How does a 10 year old have all the different gender flags in her room? This suggests Stonewall brainwashing at school or way too much time on the Internet. If it’s the former, make sure she’s getting balance to what they might be teaching her, if it’s the latter, you really need to clamp down OP. There is absolutely nothing gained from a 10 year old having unfettered Internet access to gender ideology, and everything to lose. The fact she’s only 10 and talking about “misgendering” and “transphobia” is concerning. How about stopping the Internet access, and letting her be a kid who does kid things rather than an adult before her time?

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I really do hate it when kids are learning about stuff online, if that’s the case. It’s just not reality.

Pride is a celebration of adult sexuality surely? Perhaps there are family friendly events as pps have suggested. My gay friend stopped going to the big demos , says its 'too corporate and BDSM '.I fondly recall my first gay rights demo , Tom Robinson sang Glad to be Gay at the end. Innocent times perhaps.

I think it depends on the Pride event and you don't know for sure what it's going to be like until you go unfortunately, which is why I would avoid with a child that young.

We used to go every year and carried on going to the local daytime event once our kids came along as it was family friendly and a lovely atmosphere. The last one we went to was in 2019 and it got hijacked by a huge hen party (the bride to be was marrying a man, ironically) carrying massive inflatable cocks and behaving obscenely. We decided that would be the last time we took the kids.

I've been to plenty of local Pride events with DS which are completely family friendly. Free bouncy castles, a dance floor with a mix of live music and djs, discount kayaking and water zorbing. Plenty of people in costumes but nothing inappropriate for the children that were present. Just a really nice day out with a genuinely fun pleasant atmosphere. The last parade I was at also gave prominence to a group protesting on women's health issues.

I'm not saying that there aren't parades/events that are inappropriate for children. But there are plenty that are actually pretty fantastic days out and are good for children to experience.

An interesting dilemma...
It may be that in a years time, she is at a school that is a Stonewall Champion or celebratesPride month and if celebrating aroused men dressed in leather is appropriate for children, then go ahead...

She's so young! I would deflect, there are plenty of things a 10yo can't do, or go to, or watch. Pride is one of those things. Make it about the bigger picture rather than Pride specifically, and keep a very, VERY sharp eye on her internet activity.

She doesn't have a label yet

This is so depressing. Why does she need one? She isn't supermarket produce.

How did she find out about the event? I’m curious how a 10yr old finds out about pride. It’s not for a child her age and I would say it’s for 18plus. I wouldn’t even let my teenager go as it’s, as others have mentioned, highly sexualized. It’s not a child or family event regardless of what is being told.

Five year olds enchanted by aroused men acting out their sexual fetish? . No I can't see anything inappropriate there...

Offer her a day out at the national Space Centre instead. Much more fun at age 10 and plenty to 'keep her mind working'.

Or Alton Towers.

There are all sorts of different Pride events. I probably wouldn’t take kids to London or Brighton right now just because of the crowds, but there will be lovely events around the fringes and like PP said, lots of quite low-key local ones. I very much want my kids to be able to go to family-friendly Pride events as part of understanding that the same-sex parent families we are friends with may have had quite a different experience. If that leads to a discussion about the fact that I have a different view on gender identity than many people at Pride, well then we have that discussion. I get that you are worried about the impact of gender identity discussions on your DD but isn’t it great she wants to go and explore a Pride event WITH you?