So you support your gay teen, great: You still have to parent them

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR GAY CHILD

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. * supporting gay child *

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. Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbian and Gays (PFLAG).

COMG OUT: A PARENTS GUI TO SUPPORTG YOUR GAY TEEN

"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. * supporting gay child *

It’s no different for parents of LGBTQ (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer) children.

And fay rejectn has a ser impact on a gay or transgenr young person’s risk for health and mental health problems. "I enurage parents to not assume that [they] know what LGBTQ youth are experiencg, " Kirk Shepard, a licensed profsnal unselor Portland, Oregon, told NBC OUT regardg the 2016 attack where an assailant killed 49 people a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, and jured many more. For more rourc and support, vis TheTrevorProject, Suici Preventn Hotle, Born This Way Foundatn, The Gay, Lbian, Bisexual, and Transgenr Natnal Hotle, Fay Equaly Council, Trans Lifele, PLFAG,, PleaseStay,, and.

In our town, we are the gay "go-to" people — pecially for parents and grandparents of gay kids.

PARENTS OF GAY CHILDREN AND THE ISSU THEY FACE

Parents of gay children may go through an adjtment perd when they fd out their child is gay, but there is support for parents of gay children. * supporting gay child *

" 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.

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.

SUPPORT YOUR CHILDREN IF THEY ARE GAY, POPE TELLS PARENTS

* supporting gay child *

" 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. "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.