Firebase Realtime Database doesn't have the equivalent of SQLs IN
clause. It also doesn't have a way to find a substring in a value. So the data model you are looking to use, doesn't allow the use-case you want. As usual with NoSQL databases, the solution is to pick a data model that does allow your use-case..
The most likely cause I know for the structure you describe is to associate the child node with a bunch of categories. If that is your case, read my answer here for a proper data structure: Firebase query if child of child contains a value
This is one of the cases where the new Cloud Firestore database offers better querying support, since it recently added a feature to efficiently test if an array contains a certain value (video). If you're only just getting started with your project, you might want to check if Firestore is a better fit for your use-cases.