5 Tips for Parents of Transgender Children

by SLICKLION

Raising a Transgender Child

Raising children is certainly one of life’s most rewarding experiences yet simultaneously presents some of our greatest challenges. As information about transgender children continues to spread, more and more parents of are quickly moving through any personal fears to fully support their trans child. It’s important to understand that the sooner you help your trans child transition from their assigned gender to their true gender identity, the happier they’re likely to be throughout their entire life.

Tips For Parents Raising a Transgender Child

  1. Never stop showing your child unconditional love! Regardless of what your wishes for your child were or are, children are their own people and are here to live their own lives, not to please us as parents. Teach your child that you will love them no matter what and that you will do anything you can to support their needs.
  2. Consider visiting a gender specialist at an early age if your child insists that he or she feels like the gender opposite the one they were assigned at birth; or if your child is indeed determined to be transgender, you can help your child make a “social transition” into their gender identity.
  3. Once you are aware that you are raising a transgender child, you can help them learn methods of developing healthy self-esteem. You may wish to work with a transgender friendly family therapist to help all members adjust to the changes; in many cases, it’s actually the parents that need more help adjusting than the trans child, particularly if the child was allowed to make a social transition at an early age.
  4. Puberty blockers and cross sex hormones may help your preteen and teenage trans child adjust to their growing body. Many transgender children are fearful about what will happen to their bodies once they reach puberty, but puberty blocking medications offer another option by delaying the onset of puberty with no long-term side effects. Cross sex hormones, taken during the teenage years, may have permanent physical effects, but in most cases, these effects will be desirable to your trans child and will help them adjust over the long-term.
  5. Plenty of support exists for parents of transgender children. As more and more transgender people “go public” and more parents openly support their trans children from a very young age, the number of online and local support groups keeps steadily increasing.

Greater Equality is Leading to Wider Acceptance

Parents no longer need to feel ashamed of their transgender children thanks to the strong parents and transgender people who have come before to pave the way for more equality in society. By honoring our children for who they are, we can offer them the unconditional love and support they most need to grow into the truest versions of themselves.

Complete Article HERE!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.