Rainbow kids stick together

A new group for children of gay and lesbian parents is starting in Northcote next month to provide youngsters with a safe space to socialise with other children in rainbow families.

Former teacher of 15 years and now social worker, Viv Ray told Southern Star Observer she is setting up the group because there is little support for children who may be having a hard time.

“I’m setting up the group because I know there’s a need for it,” she said.

“It will be a safe space for kids to reflect if there are any difficulties and this age group of children, the younger they are the fewer difficulties there are, but it’s about fostering self-esteem and pride and to give them a way for that to come out.”

Ray established a similar group in 2001 after conducting research — published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies — with her partner Robin Gregory on the school experiences of children with gay and lesbian parents.

“In that [research] we found that some children felt a little bit isolated. They had a lot of friends but they didn’t know other kids who came from families like theirs and they really wanted to be able to meet other kids like them, and talk with them and find out the similarities and differences in their families.”

Ray said the group will focus on fun, but will also give children a chance to speak about their families in a safe environment.

“[The group] is about kids sharing the good times and just talking about their families because in the research, the kids expressed to us that children in straight families often didn’t understand the kinds of description of their parents and the language they use.

“For example, when one child said they had a donor, other kids in their grade at school had no idea what that meant.”

Ray said that young children can face a lack of understanding of the existence of their families.

“In the research we had kids saying, ‘My friend said to me, “What do you mean you’ve got a donor?” ’. Another kid’s said, ‘I told them I had two mums’, and the friend said, ‘You can’t, one of them must be your aunt’.

“So they’ve had their kinds of families denied, even though in this younger age group, it’s not around putting these kids down, it was a lack of awareness and understanding in the general community.”

The five weekly sessions will be held on Sunday and are open for children in Grades 2 – 6. The course costs $80 or $60 concession and starts on November 14.

“It’s a one-hour session, so within that there’ll be storytelling, book reading, artwork, games, running around, lots of different kinds of activities happening,” Ray said.

“They’ll all be aimed at the kids getting to know each other, seeing who has similar families.”

info: Email [email protected]