When Your Child Tells You They’re Trans
That’s not all they are. There’s something else.
When your child tells you they’re transgender, please consider that is not all that they are.
They are probably also scared out of their minds.
It’s scary enough to come to grips with the notion that one is different. And all the implications that can have, in society.
It’s even scarier to confide in someone else — to share such sensitive information with someone.
Please realize how scared your kid must be.
Please realize they’re showing a massive level of trust in you.
Don’t mess this up.
A perfectly good response, to begin with, is simply “I love you. I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me what’s in your heart. This is something I don’t know enough about. Let me do some digging, ok? And then let’s talk some more?”
Another perfectly good response is to listen. Just listen. Let them tell you what they’re feeling. Let them tell you what their hopes are. What their fears are. Let them unload this massive stone they’ve been carrying for days, maybe weeks. Maybe years.
And hold them.
And tell them you love them.
