Letterkenny Pride hosted a coffee morning, bake sale and a thrift fundraiser at the weekend.

Their aim was to raise money to help them hold the Letterkenny Pride parade at the end of August.

A Pride parade celebrates LGBTQ+ visibility, inclusivity, achievement and of course, pride. I saw on Facebook that they had to move venues last minute due to objections. Personally, I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading. Imagine objecting to a coffee morning?

And then I read that Ballymena hosted its first Pride parade last Saturday. A few hours beforehand, a street designated for the event was sprayed with slurry. Police are treating it as a hate crime, and rightly so. It made me so sad to hear that the person arrested for this offense is only 19 years old.

I realise I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but I have to admit that I thought an older person would have been more likely to commit this sort of offense. The reason being, I have so much hope that the younger generations are more open-minded and more progressive than their predecessors. Unfortunately though, it would appear that contempt is still being passed down from generation to generation.

Pride is not anything for us to fear, or shelter our children from. They’ll see the rainbow flags and might ask questions. This presents a valuable opportunity to instill values of kindness, inclusion, and respect for others in the next generation.

Talking about Pride to children doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start with the basics; Everyone is different – and that’s a good thing.

You might say that Pride Week is when people celebrate all kinds of families and love. Tell them that everyone is free to love whoever they like and love is a wonderful thing. That’s pretty much it; Children don’t need detailed explanations to grasp that love is love.

Children understand concepts like fairness, kindness, and friendship so you can frame your explanation of Pride Week around those values. You could tell them that Pride is about people being proud of who they are. It’s also about making sure everyone feels safe and loved for being themselves.

Incidentally, I have never been to a Pride parade myself and it isn’t a topic of conversation that comes up regularly with my children. However, when it does come up, it is always discussed in a positive and normalised way.

Pride Week and the rainbow flags that accompany it is a great opportunity to start or deepen conversations around diversity, fairness, and love. Anyone who is bothered by an event that encompasses these values really needs to channel their energy into something else. There are so many things in this world that we should be annoyed about; who people choose to love shouldn’t be one of them.

Pride Week is about standing up for others, embracing uniqueness, and celebrating people for who they are. Those are lessons every child can understand and carry for life. And as parents, don’t we want the world to accept our children for who they are, no matter what life has in store for them? Building that world starts at home, in our attitudes and in the values we pass on to them.

Talking to kids about Pride Week isn’t about adult topics – it’s about human ones. Inclusion, acceptance, and love are values that transcend age. By starting that conversation early, you give your child a strong foundation for the empathy and kindness that this world so desperately needs.

Louise Flanagan is an admin of Letterkenny Babies Facebook page and the author of the children’s book series, Dragonterra and Dream Beasts. www.dragonterra.ie