June is Pride Month! Here’s how (and why!) we should celebrate Pride Month and Pink Dot 2024 in Singapore with our kids

Pink Fest and Pink Dot are back with fun events for Pride Month in June 2024! Pink Dot SG has served as a safe space for the Singapore LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community since 2009, with its annual bash in Hong Lim Park. It’s always a joyous day filled with performances, fun activities, and lots of pink that puts a Singapore spin on Pride celebrations that take place around the world during June. While Pink Dot is traditionally limited to only Singaporeans and permanent residents due to government regulations around the use of Hong Lim Park, there are many other ways for everyone to participate in Pink Dot and celebrate pride month this year.

Read more: An SG Mama on Parenting & Supporting a Transgender Child

Why Get Kids Involved in Pride Month?

Pride Month is about “being able to be fully who you are, no matter who you are,” says Eliza Byard of the non-profit advocacy network GLSEN told Mashable. “When you let your child experience you talking about that, it may give them permission to be who they are.” Family participation is so crucial, as Pink Dot’s organisers point out, because for so many LGBTQ individuals in Singapore “familial relationships often get compromised due to a lack of understanding.” A big part of Pink Dot is getting people to think about the issues commonly faced by the LGBTQ community, both inside and outside of their families, with a goal of promoting understanding and unity amongst family and friends.

Even if no one in your family identifies as LGBTQ, explaining Pink Dot and its significance can help to reduce and eliminate anti-LGBT prejudice, and demonstrates to your kids the importance of being an ally (crucial here, as in the fight against racism). Just as it is important to talk to children about race from a very early age, so you can talk to your kids about LGBTQ+ identity. It needn’t be framed as a conversation about sexuality, but rather on being able to love whomever we choose, and to feel happy and confident in our own identity.

Think about what concepts your kids are familiar with – such as love, family members, friends, fairness – and also consider what you would like your child to value. Identity? Respect? Diversity? Standing up against discrimination, racism, homophobia, and transphobia? For a wealth of resources presented in a local context (and four languages), be sure to check out Congregaytion.

Read More: What I Wished My Parents Said When I Told Them I Was Gay

All About Pink Dot 2024

1. Pink Dot 2024 at Hong Lim Park on 29 June 29th, 2024

Pink Dot is back at Hong Lim Park this 29 June. Deets are still incoming but there are usually concerts and a multitude of programmes available for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to come together to celebrate Pride month. This will be the 16th edition of Pink Dot and we are still waiting to know the theme.

2. Pink Dot 2024 Light Up

Decorate your home with pink lights during the month of June (it’ll be a fun one to do with the kids) to show support to those who might not be able to do so. Or purchase pink fairy lights from the Pink Dot e-store for $20, with proceeds supporting Pink Dot event! How much fun would it be to walk around Singapore spotting pink lights? Do note that while everyone is free to light up their own private spaces – including rooms and windows – you cannot light up common areas like corridors, the outside of HDB units, etc.

Pink Dot invites the public to stand with the LGBTQ+ community and envision a Singapore for all families. Show up with your family (in pink!) and look forward to exciting performances by homegrown artists and various local drag queens! Enjoy a relaxing picnic with your family, friends and even pet as you soak in all the wonderful performances.

When: TBC
Admission: Free! Do note only Singaporeans and Permanent Residents may enter the barricaded parts of the park.
Where: Hong Lim Park, New Bridge Road, Singapore 059299

4. Pink Fest 2024

There’s also Pink Fest – an inclusive festival celebrating Pride Month in Singapore with activities and lifestyle events. This edition is themed “Forward and Fearless”. Stand by while we await more deets!

When: TBC
Admission: TBC
Where: TBC

Further Reading with kids: Age-appropriate books to discuss identity & gender:

If you’re interested in finding age-appropriate books to help explain these topics to your kids, consider reaching out to Pelangi Pride Centre, which is run by local “lesbrarians” (lesbian +librarians) Eileena Lee and Charmaine Tan. You can find their entire catalogue online, including a dedicated children’s collection, and books are available for lending on Saturdays.

Additionally, here are a few highly recommended books geared towards children aged 3 and up:

• Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
• Daddy, Papa and Me by Leslea Newman
• The Family Book by Todd Parr
• Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero by Ellie Royce
• Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
• The Different Dragon by Jennifer Bryan
• The Rainbow Flag: Bright, Bold, and Beautiful by Michelle Millar Fisher