After watching Hopster’s Rainbow Stories, little ones may have some questions about the shows.
Here’s a handy follow up guide to use in discussions about the series and the topics raised in the individual stories.
Peter, Mark, James and Einstein
What’s a foster home?
Sometimes families can go through difficult times and it’s much better for children to go live in a place called a foster home. A foster home is a special place and each one is different. Very kind people, look after those children that need a foster home. It’s only for a short time, until they can go back to their family or sometimes they find children a new family – in a forever home.
What’s a forever home?
At the start of this story, James lives with Greg and Lucy – they are not his parents – but they are very nice people who look after him for a short amount of time. A forever home is where you live with your parents for a long long time – it feels like forever. James moves into his new forever home with his daddies, Peter and Mark.
Why does James have two dads?
James’ daddies are called Peter and Mark and they love each other very much and they wanted James to be part of their family. Families can be very different, you can have two dads in a family, or two mums in a family, sometimes you can have just one mum raising a family or just one dad raising a family. Sometimes nannies or grandads raise families too. All families are different but they love each other just the same.
Can two men have children?
To make a baby, you need to have a woman, because babies can only grow inside a woman’s belly. But two men can raise a child, and have a family together.
And why are they dancing together like that?
Because dancing makes them happy. They are doing a dance called the Tango. Anybody can dance together. Two men can dance together, two women can dance together, or a man and woman can dance together.
Are they gay? What does gay mean?
Yes they are gay. Gay is when two people of the same gender love each other. It is when two men love each other, or when two women love each other. It describes a boy who wants to have a boyfriend or a girl who wants to have a girlfriend.
Lynsey and Holly
Those two women were kissing and got married, why?
That’s right, they were. Lynsey and Holly love each other. When people become adults they can marry whoever they want to. It can be a man and woman who marry each other. Two women can marry each other. Two men can marry each other.
Can two girls marry?
Yes, two girls can marry when they become adults. It’s the same for boys too, when they become adults they can marry each other as well.
Are they gay? What does gay mean?
Yes they are gay. Gay is when two people of the same gender love each other. It is when two men love each other, or when two women love each other. It describes a boy who wants to have a boyfriend or a girl who wants to have a girlfriend.
Stella /Stuart
Why did the girl turn into a boy?
That’s a very good question. In this story Stella was sad because she was born as a girl, but she always felt that she was actually a boy, being a boy made her much happier.
Why was she sad being a girl?
Because she always felt like a boy – even as a very small child. But when she told her family and her friends, they listened to her, and they loved her and gave her the support to be a boy – so she wasn’t sad anymore.
Additional Resources
Diversity Role Models
Diversity Role Models actively seek to embed inclusion and empathy in the next generation by working with schools to make them more inclusive. They aim to stop bullying before it happens by educating all young people about differences in sexuality & gender identity
Stonewall
Stonewall campaigns for the equality of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people across Britain. They have a LGBT+ glossary of terms which many parents unfamiliar with issues & topics in this area may find useful.
Mermaids
This is a charity which provides family and individual support for gender diverse and transgender children & young people.
The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT)
TACT is the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity. Their core work involves providing high quality and well-supported foster and adoptive families for children and young people in the care of local authorities.
Pop ‘n’ Olly
Pop’n’Olly is an LGBT+ and equality educational resource used by children, parents, carers, and teachers. Their videos and books are being used in UK Primary Schools, and beyond, to teach about equality and diversity and ultimately combat homo, bi and transphobia. Founded and created by published author and YouTuber Olly Pike, their work aims to ‘usalise’ different types of people, particularly those who are LGBT+.
Hopster 