"I'm OK - You're OK." That tchy tle is repeated oftentim to this day unselg parents how to handle a son or dghter revealg they are gay or lbian. "Don't be judgmental. Convey unndnal love. Accept them as they are. Realize they're born this way. Reassure them you're okay and they're okay whatever sexual inty they choose."
Contents:
- WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
- YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?
- I TRIED TO STOP MY SON FROM BEG GAY. I WISH I HADN'T
- HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SON IS GAY
- SON BERAT GAY FATHER: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
- WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR CHILD SAID, 'I'M GAY'?
- THIS IS HOW I REALLY REACTED WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
There's a new Android app out (here's the English versn) lled "Is My Son Gay?" which one n answer an easy seri of qutns ("Are you divorced?") that will tell you if, fact, your son is a gay person. * gay son what would you do *
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.
YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?
What would you do if you wnsed a homophobic kid berate his gay father? * gay son what would you do *
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? 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.
I TRIED TO STOP MY SON FROM BEG GAY. I WISH I HADN'T
When parents learn that their child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, they n experience a range of emotns. As a matter of fact, you might someday look back and fd that you are grateful for the experience of havg a gay or lbian child. Well, my study of 65 fai of gay and lbian youth for the book, Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Gay or Lbian Child, I found that some parents get to the pot where they believe that the experience of havg a gay child actually ma them a better person—more open-md and sensive to the needs of others, particularly those other mory groups.
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SON IS GAY
If you jt found out your child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, you may be thkg that such ias are prepostero.
The tstworthy nfidants let them vent but also rrected some of the misperceptns they absorbed om society, such as that gay people are lonely, unhappy, promiscuo, not fay-oriented, unable to have children, or sted for an unhappy life.
Contact Parents, Fay, and Friends of Lbians and Gays (PFLAG). List of Helpful Books for Parents of Gay and Lbian Children.
SON BERAT GAY FATHER: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Straight Parents Gay Children: Keepg Fai Together (revised edn).
Beyond Acceptance: Parents of Lbians, and Gays Talk About Their Experienc. Somethg to Tell You: The Road Fai Travel when a Child is Gay. Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Gay or Lbian Child.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR CHILD SAID, 'I'M GAY'?
Fortunate Fai: Catholic fai wh lbian dghters and gay sons. Mom, Dad, I'm Gay: How Fai Negotiate Comg Out. For straight parents, havg a child reveal that he is gay n be a jolt.
You might ask how long he or she has known, and why he feels he is gay, bi, or trans, suggts Jonathan Tobk, M. D., a psychiatrist private practice New York Cy and the -thor of When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need to Know. You n fd one through the Associatn of Gay and Lbian Psychiatrists.
Take the extra step and show your child that you are terted beg the parent of a gay child.
THIS IS HOW I REALLY REACTED WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY
Edute yourself on what means to be gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenr.
PFLAG, or Parents for Lbians and Gays, which now has a group for transgenr youth, and holds natnwi chapters and meetgs;. By now u probably have an ia of what i am about to I am gayRyan: i n’t believe i jt told youMom: Are you jokg? Ryan: i know i amRyan: i don’t like hannahRyan: ’s jt a ver-upMom: but that don’t make you gay…Ryan: i knowRyan: but u don’t unrstandRyan: i am gayMom: tell me moreRyan: ’s jt the way i am and ’s somethg i knowRyan: u r not a lbian and u know that.
Ryan: i am jt gayRyan: i am thatMom: I love you no matter whatRyan: i am whe not blackRyan: i knowRyan: i am a boy not a girlRyan: i am attracted to boys not girlsRyan: u know that about yourself and i know thisMom: what about what God thks about actg on the sir? Not that we didn’t know and love gay people — my only brother had e out to several years before, and we adored him.