Advice for parents wh LGBTQ kids to help support and show them love. What to do when your kids e out to you as lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer.
Contents:
- PARENTG A GAY CHILD
- 5 THGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT RAISG A GAY CHILD
- HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR GAY CHILD
- COMG OUT: A PARENTS GUI TO SUPPORTG YOUR GAY TEEN
- HOW TO RAISE YOUR CHILD TO BE GAY
- GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
- MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?
- A FATHER ASKED A GAY MAN HE MET VEGAS FOR ADVICE ABOUT RAISG HIS SON, AND THE TER N'T GET ENOUGH
- HOW CAN I LEARN TO ACCEPT MY GAY SON
PARENTG A GAY CHILD
What do I wish I had known about raisg a gay child? It’s a pretty short list and, had I known, I may have stunted my own growth. Bee raisg a gay child has not been much different than raisg a child who is not gay. After all, she’s a child. Well, not any more. But, Pearl once was, and I would like to thk our fay navigated her g out such a manner that she is now a flouris * how to raise a gay son *
'" says Sung Tse, parent to a transgenr young adult and print of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of PFLAG, the first and largt anizatn for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and fai, and alli. I grew up outsi of New York Cy, the meltg pot, attend llege and worked New York, yet when I found out my son, Jam, age 13, was gay, I reverted to "not my backyard. Although he didn't particularly like ntact sports, he didn't exhib the gay stereotypil image: lisp, rabow lors.
How would he know he's gay, if he never had sex wh a girl?
5 THGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT RAISG A GAY CHILD
"Mom, Dad, I'm gay!" Your brave, wonrful, betiful child has spoken the words out loud that somewhere the back of your md you already spected. This moment of honty is the begng of a journey that n be challengg for both you and your child. * how to raise a gay son *
Acrdg to -thor of When Your Child Is Gay, Jonathan L. D., nial is the most mon ial reactn of parents to the joltg news that their child is gay.
When I terviewed straight parents for When Your Child Is Gay, they ed words such as fear, shock, helplsns, strs, and extreme sadns to scribe their experienc wh nial. Why do parents who are normally acceptg of their children go to the nial zone upon learng that their child is gay, bisexual, even transgenr?
Beg gay was not part of that plan and this fact was hard to rencile.
HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR GAY CHILD
The days, gay parents are no novelty. * how to raise a gay son *
Tobk, who is private practice Manhattan, do not expect their child to be gay. However, be sure you pick a gay-iendly one om an anizatn such as the Amerin Associatn of Psychiatrists that has a divisn of gay therapists om which to choose.
They will be empathetic and unrstandg and turn will ntribute to your unrstandg of what means to be the parent of a gay child. At PFLAG, you will fd parents who have siar feelgs, thoughts, and reactns to havg a gay child.
I uldn't be around people who judged me, thought beg gay was a "liftyle" that uld be changed or thought that homosexualy was wrong. This book tak a parent through a day the life of a gay child. As a parent wh no role mols for havg a gay child, I didn't expect to know how to parent a gay child.
COMG OUT: A PARENTS GUI TO SUPPORTG YOUR GAY TEEN
Jack Remmgton was playg the slots when a man asked him, "Are you gay?" Turns out, he was lookg for advice on how to raise his son. * how to raise a gay son *
You may say that parentg is parentg, but the straight parent of a gay child has to al wh addnal issu such as bullyg, possible low self-teem of their child, discrimatn, to name a few. The gay child has most likely gone through the same issu that you are now experiencg: nial, fear, guilt, shame, anger, loss, to arrive at acceptance. In future blogs, we will tackle those subjects, jt as When Your Child Is Gay (Sterlg, 2016) do.
But providg support isn't always easy — pecially if you are the parent of a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or qutng (LGBTQ) child. Advote for a gay-straight alliance (GSA), which has been shown to make schools safer and boost amic performance among LGBTQ stunts. Team up wh a pediatrician, a unselor at school, close fay members and even muny anizatns — for example, Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbians and Gays (PFLAG) — if you’re havg trouble gog alone.
HOW TO RAISE YOUR CHILD TO BE GAY
* how to raise a gay son *
Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbian and Gays (PFLAG).
What do I wish I had known about raisg a gay child? Bee raisg a gay child has not been much different than raisg a child who is not gay. We did right by her; thank you, lnchg a kickstarter fundraisg mpaign for "Lovg Pearl, " a book I wrote about raisg my gay child, some have told me how “lucky” my dghter is that we accepted her.
I’ve met several people who have thanked me for havg the urage to wre the book, cludg parents, a few teachers, a pastor and other gay youth who weren’t so “lucky.
GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
I was blsed to have gay siblgs growg up. Sometim ’s hard to tell who’s gay and who’s straight. In our town, we are the gay "go-to" people — pecially for parents and grandparents of gay kids.
" Beg openly gay may be the most urageo choice your son, dghter, grandson or granddghter will ever make. "I don't know how to tell iends and fay about my gay kid or grandkid.
MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?
Wh more people livg openly, seems that nearly everyone knows someone gay. Nearly everyone knows and lik/lov someone gay.
"Now that I know my kid is gay, I'm ncerned about same-sex sleepovers. " If the ia of your dghter sleepg wh her boyiend unr your own roof at the age of 16 sets off every bad parentg bell the universe for you, hold your gay son or dghter to the same standards. We're sure he would e out if only he didn't thk his mom hadn't already submted her résumé for an open posn at PFLAG, which stands for Parents, Fay & Friends of Lbians and Gays.
A FATHER ASKED A GAY MAN HE MET VEGAS FOR ADVICE ABOUT RAISG HIS SON, AND THE TER N'T GET ENOUGH
"I was jt settlg to the gay thg and now she tells me she lik a boy. I recently checked wh a iend about her gay high school senr.
"I really want him to meet some other nice gay people.
Let's assume 1 10 is gay. That's two dozen gay kids (25 ls your own).
HOW CAN I LEARN TO ACCEPT MY GAY SON
Not jt the Gay-Straight Alliance, although this is a great start. What about volunteerg for a gay teen hotle or homels shelter? Y, gay people are more visible than ever before.
But is equally te that homophobia ns rampant and ep this untry. Gay kids need lots of . Joan Garry is a natnally regnized gay rights lear and the former print of the Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn (GLAAD).