I want to tell you a little bit about why we're so focused here on families, and on including children in what we do.

A big part of it, for me, is that I've always found it odd how we leave them out. By doing so, we leave out parents who might otherwise volunteer for things. We leave out people who most need to make those spiritual connections as their lives change - the people who need support and magic. And we leave out the children, no matter what age they are. They may not be ready for some types of workings, but to not tell them the stories of our gods seems strange to me, and to let them unlearn the magic they see in the world and then have to re-learn as adults is just silly.

As I've done work to regain the cultural knowledge that my Indigenous family lost to boarding schools, I've realized that the way we raise children now is decidedly different than the way other cultures do...and decolonizing our views on children and child-rearing matters. If you want to learn more, search "decolonizing parenthood" and you'll find lots of info.

Which is *still* not to say that everyone should have kids, or that they're somehow going to make your life better. That's a choice each of us has to make for ourselves, and there is no right or wrong answer that works for every person or every family.

But it *is* up to all of us, whether we have children or not, to protect those who are vulnerable from abuse, and relegating them to a back corner somewhere doesn't actually protect them.

I always encourage people in our community to read the book, "Don't Leave Your Friends Behind" - I have it on Kindle, hit me up if you want to borrow it. The book is about how important it is to support families with children in social movements.