The Do’s and Don’ts of Protesting With Kids: PART 2

Understanding different types of protests

Hi there,

Today’s email is Part 2 in our series on the Do’s and Don’ts of protesting with kids. In Part 1, we explored when to include kids here. In Part 2, we think about the different types of protests as we continue to explore family engagement at protests. Let’s jump in, shall we?

It’s become very clear that many people actually aren’t aware of the types of protest interventions, and may be thinking universally not to take kids. Not all protests involve the same level of planning and not all protests include the same level of potential risk for children. All, however, do serve a role in our fight against injustice and they are all needed. It’s also helpful to distinguish between the types of protests so that our expectations can be measured. Here are some of the main types and what you need to know as a parent/caregiver:

RALLIES
These gatherings tend to be bigger in number of attendees and feature broader messaging that may create a larger umbrella for a wide range of people to attend. Rallies often include speakers and maybe a performance or two. For example, the 2025 Hands Off/ People’s Veto Day rally in DC was an empowering and relevant event for families. Rallies are usually great with kids because you can literally set up house somewhere on the outskirts of the rally site where there aren’t as many people. This way, your little ones can have some space while you can still hear the program.

MARCHES
Marches have defined start and end points and usually begin or end with a rally. Some marches can also be suitable for kids because families can join closer to the end, so you can go at your own pace depending on your comfort level. If you stay on the outside of the march, like we usually do, you can take your kids to the side for anything they need or to get out of the way quickly, if needed. The 2017 Women’s March, which included a stroller brigade, is a great example. Families with young kids moved along at their own pace AND were part of the energy.

ART BUILDS

Art builds usually take place at a local center where people can make protest signs, banners, etc for a rally or march. Again, they can be super engaging for kids because there’s space for them to get creative. Art builds also tend to have less people than a march or rally. Our daughter attended her first art build at just 5-months-old and, even at that age, she seemed to love the bright colors and watching others create art for the march.

STORYTELLING EVENTS
Storytelling events can be a part of rallies or marches or they can stand alone. These gatherings are specifically designed for people who are impacted negatively by injustice so that they can have space to share about their experiences. Planned Parenthood often has storytellers at their rallies. Consider the age of your child and their ability to intake sometimes intense information when deciding to attend storytelling events. For example, a storytelling event about racism may be appropriate for a 10-year-old, but one for survivors of sexual violence might not be. You know your kid best!

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Parents can usually find out if a protest is likely to include the risk of civil disobedience by contacting the organizers. These protests are usually not for young children due to the unpredictability of police presence and the possibility of arrests. Ultimately, it’s up to each parent to decide what’s safe for their families. We tend to not take our kids to protests where arrests are likely, unless we are clear that we can move away when civil disobedience begins. The conditions are too unpredictable—our children are super young and it’s overwhelming in those situations to take care of our own safety and their safety at the same time. However, we have been to some protests where people were arrested. In these situations, we moved away from the center of the action as soon as we saw the potential for arrests brewing. It’s also important to realize that, in a fascist state, any protest can possibly result in arrests. So use your judgement, and err on the side of caution for the safety of your kids.

RAPID RESPONSE

Rapid response protests usually occur when an instance of injustice quickly mobilizes either a community or the country (or even the world!) into the streets. There remains varying levels of planning even with rapid response protests, and most often it occurs in response to a tragic event so emotions tend to be very high. In 2020, after George Floyd was murdered by police officers, emotions were high and raw as individuals spilled into not just the streets around the site of his killing, but also across the world. Many Black people worldwide identified with the experience of being discriminated against and harmed because of racist systems, including the policing system and other ones designed to protect some people (white people) over others (Black and Brown people). Though we both (Adam and I) have seen the importance of joining our community for rapid response protests to both show solidarity and to collectively grieve, we tend to go to these protests by ourselves, without our children. When we have taken our young children to rapid response protests, we stayed on the edge of the crowd.

These are only a few types of protests—and they can certainly overlap. Organizers also may get creative when it comes to some protest actions (like the recent Kick Out The Clowns actions), so contacting them is usually a great way to figure out if/how you can keep your kids safe.

How To Contact Protest Organizers

The contact information for organizers can usually be found on the social media of one of the convening organizations or by direct messaging an organizer who posts a flier for a protest on social media. You can also send a message via an organization’s contact form, if an organization is involved. For some rallies and marches, mass organizing calls may be offered where the public can ask questions and receive answers.

Children Have Long Been A Part of Protest Movements

One last thing to really think about is your child’s age and their ability to assess risk as well as keep themselves safe. Kids have historically been a part of protest spaces, from being present in organizing rooms to actually hitting the streets during the 1963 Birmingham Children’s March, where children from the ages of 7-18 made the informed decision to protest. These kids were of the age where they understood the realities of the risk. They saw the risk of staying silent all around them and they chose to take action. The same occurred in 2018 when millions of children and young people walked out of schools to demand safety from gun violence. There were over 7000 individual walkouts, making it the largest decentralized day of protest in American history (Tabitha was honored to help guide the national youth team in their efforts). We wouldn’t depend on our 5-year-old, for instance, to have the capacity to make the safety assessment of protesting on her own while our 10-year-old could do it in some situations.

We’re going to end today’s email here and we invite you to drop a comment or question below! In our next email, we’ll jump into our do’s and don’ts of protesting with kids.

Take good care of yourself and your loved ones, ok?

Tabitha & Adam