"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
E.E. Cummings
Hello and welcome!
We are Emily & Maren, two parents of trans kids who were inspired to create Parenting the Rainbow as a way to build community for parents of trans (umbrella inclusive: transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive) children and provide opportunities for young trans children to build relationships.
In a world where cisgender norms prevail, it's so brave for young kids to be honest about their true gender identity. And we believe parents of trans children who are choosing love are literal heroes! It’s not always easy to do this job in a trans-phobic world so we wanted to create a space where parents of trans children can connect - to support each other, to celebrate successes, to grieve challenges, and to do their own personal work along the way.
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We are thrilled to be gathering with you around the tender, sometimes challenging, sometimes surprising, always beautiful journey it can be to parent a child on the gender rainbow. Parents in this community may come from all walks of life and backgrounds, with distinct journeys and experiences of gender. For all of us, the decision to support our young children requires us to take a stand in the face of potentially unsupportive family, friends, schools, and certainly hostile national and local institutions. It requires us to choose love, over and over again.
Our goals...
1) Create a supportive network for parents to connect with one another, ask questions, and confess fears. This journey contains all the feelings: joy, fear, enthusiasm, love, celebration, disappointment, anger, rage, excitement, and sadness. It's all here and we welcome each of you who are navigating this process in your own way.
2) Support parents of families with young children to create spaces and contexts for our children to build relationships with others like them.
​We are new and growing and we welcome you to collaborate and engage with us along the way as we build this incredible network. Know that you are welcome and safe here. We can’t wait to meet you!
with gratitude,
What does PTR do?
Connection and support of these rainbow children, as well as their parents and caregivers is more important than ever! With that in mind, Parenting the Rainbow is creating community in the following ways. ​(For safety and privacy reasons, you must be a member to access the community and events pages of our site.)
We host a community forum for the parents and guardians of these beautiful children to connect. Access the PTR online community anytime, day or night! This is a place to trade resources, engage with conversation threads, and support one another.
Online Community
We welcome siblings and supportive members of your family and trusted personal circle. Play dates are held at local parks and supportive businesses and organizations in Boulder County.
Monthly Playdates
Currently, we are working on adding season activities to our list of events. Most of these will launch in the new year. However, some ideas are movie nights, family hikes, and parent nights with counselors.
Seasonal Activities & Events
What if my child is older than 10?
We chose "10 and younger" because there simply is no programming for young children. If you have an older child or teen, we highly recommend connecting with Chris Castañeda at Rocky Mountain Equality. RMEQ's LGBTQ+ Youth Program is fantastic and supports children ages 11-18.