What to Do When Your Child Says: "I'm Gay" | Psychology Today

Contents:

• EXPLAG IT TO YOUR KIDS: WHAT DO 'BEG GAY' MEAN?
• HERE'S A GREAT WAY TO EXPLA WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GAY TO KIDS
• HOW DO I DISCS BEG GAY WH MY 8-YEAR-OLD?
• MY CATHOLIC KID IS GAY! NOW WHAT??
• HOW TO EXPLA GAYS TO YOUR CHILD
• HOW CHRISTIAN PARENTS SHOULD RPOND TO THEIR CHILD'S GAY INTY CRISIS
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"

EXPLAG IT TO YOUR KIDS: WHAT DO 'BEG GAY' MEAN?

As I relayed When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know (Sterlg, 2016), I found out that my son was gay om a note wh our son's name entwed wh another boy's, surround by a heart. I had spected at tim that he was gay. Had I asked him if he were gay when he was 13, he probably would have fensively said "No!

San Berland, the mother of a gay son who ach parents of LGBTQ kids, utn, "It's not a good ia to ask. Acrdg to my -thor, psychiatrist Jonathan Tobk, "Gay children feel credibly vulnerable when g out to their parents, and tak time to work up the urage to do this. Mol acceptance by not g gay slurs and never tellg gay jok.

Watch gay-themed shows together such as "The Fosters" and "Will and Grace. " How do they pict gay people?

HERE'S A GREAT WAY TO EXPLA WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GAY TO KIDS

React kdly to gay people the news or on televisn. In a way, you have an advantage by not knowg; giv you more time to prepare for the day (if ever) when he do reveal he's gay.

HOW DO I DISCS BEG GAY WH MY 8-YEAR-OLD?

"Mommy, what do ‘beg gay' mean?

MY CATHOLIC KID IS GAY! NOW WHAT??

Therefore, I mt say that I would probably fer - or at least do everythg I uld to fer - a discsn of homosexualy and gay behavr wh a child 10 years old and unr. Even more, homosexual knowledge entails unrstandg thgs I would hope to put off young children as long as possible. But I also regnize that younger and younger children are beg exposed to homosexual persons, them, and issu and are naturally nfed and cur about .

Whether om school, by social and public teractns, or through televisn and movi, homosexualy is beg thst upon and is challengg a heterosexual world. Any munitns wh children this age, seekg to unrstand homosexualy, should rpect the le of 'the ls said the better.

Followg is an overview of the biblil, scientific, and clil knowledge we have about homosexualy. You will want to know if and how homosexualy was fed to the child, and whether or not was prented a posive or negative light. Qutn your child matter-of-factly about how the qutn arose, and what the child unrstands, if anythg, about homosexualy.

HOW TO EXPLA GAYS TO YOUR CHILD

Clarify what ‘beg gay' means.

At s root, homosexualy means the ‘same sex' or ‘like sexualy. ' A distctn between homosexual behavr and orientatn is now generally accepted the medil and theraptic muni. Homosexual acts refer to the timate sexual munitn between persons of the same sex.

Homosexual orientatn refers to the emotnal attractn and sexual drive that is directed toward persons of the same sex. While engagg homosexual behavr is a chosen activy, beg oriented to the same sex is generally nsired to be fluenced by a variety of factors.

HOW CHRISTIAN PARENTS SHOULD RPOND TO THEIR CHILD'S GAY INTY CRISIS

If your child asks "What do beg gay mean? " answer: "Beg gay means that two people of the same sex have chosen to love each other the way that God planned for a man and woman to love each other.

If your child asks "Why are some people gay? Expla what the Bible says about homosexualy.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"

Lettg your children know what the Bible says about homosexual acts is important. Even though the many fluenc of homosexual attractn and drive are plex, engagg homosexual behavr is a chosen activy. Children should be told that homosexual behavr is biblilly and morally wrong.

If your child asks "What do the Bible say about beg gay?