Our seven-year-old son told he was gay - Today's Parent

Contents:

• THIS IS HOW I FELT WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY
• MY SON THKS HE’S GAY
• YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
• OUR SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON TOLD HE WAS GAY
• THIS IS HOW I REALLY REACTED WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY
• IS MY SON GAY OR IS A PHASE?
• HOW CHRISTIAN PARENTS SHOULD RPOND TO THEIR CHILD'S GAY INTY CRISIS
• HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SON IS GAY
• HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CHILD WHO IS QUTNG OR INTIFI AS LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, QUEER OR ASEXUAL (LGBTQA)
• MY TEEN SON SAYS HE'S GAY
• MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?

THIS IS HOW I FELT WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY

If you’d like to jo the Fom, drop a le at do feel like to fd out that your son is gay? So my 19-year-old son told me he is gay last night. He don’t “act gay, ” but ’s not a huge leap to image him beg still put me to shock.

”“Don’t get stuck on thkg about the mechanics of gay sex. Bee I’m obvly the person who is gog to have trouble unrstandg that he’s gay. Rather than emphasizg whether or not to try to cut off his terchange — there is, after all, nothg wrong wh beg gay — a more important, longer-term qutn would be, “How n I help him improve his social skills?

MY SON THKS HE’S GAY

This strategy would hopefully provi a long-term solutn, whether or not he ntu to intify as gay.

YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?

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.

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

OUR SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON TOLD HE WAS 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).

THIS IS HOW I REALLY REACTED WHEN MY SON TOLD ME HE WAS GAY

List of Helpful Books for Parents of Gay and Lbian Children.

Straight Parents Gay Children: Keepg Fai Together (revised edn). Beyond Acceptance: Parents of Lbians, and Gays Talk About Their Experienc.

IS MY SON GAY OR IS A PHASE?

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.

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

Fortunate Fai: Catholic fai wh lbian dghters and gay sons. Mom, Dad, I'm Gay: How Fai Negotiate Comg Out.

They immediately clocked as gay, while we immediately clocked them as we warmed up to another, one mom anxly said: "I have a qutn: I am pretty sure my son is gay, but I don't know what to do.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SON IS GAY

"For example, if someone the word "gay" place of "stupid, " remd them that the two are not terchangeable, and suggt they should say what they actually mean stead.

HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CHILD WHO IS QUTNG OR INTIFI AS LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, QUEER OR ASEXUAL (LGBTQA)

"The rourc n help:PFLAG: The untry’s largt anizatn ung parents, fai, and alli wh people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and Spectm: Offers groups, trag, and rourc promotg genr sensivy and cln for all youthGLBT Natnal Rource Database: LGBTQ+ digal directory of rourcNatnal Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network: Directory of therapists/unselors who are people of lorNatnal LGBTQ Task Force: The progrsive advocy arm of the LGBTQ+ movementDurg LGBTQ Pri Month, TODAY is sharg the muny’s history, pa, joy and what’s next for the movement. He took a be of chicken and announced, his matter-of-fact way, “I hope you know I’m gay. In a flood of words, he told me he wanted to tell his iends that he was gay— felt like he was keepg a secret om them, and when he thought about too much, ma him feel heart ached, and I wished I uld rewd to the time when kiss and cuddl fixed absolutely everythg.

” to “Who are you gay wh?

So when another stunt said somethg to him like, “Well, at least I’m not gay! “I’m gay. I have had gay iends (and been eply hurt and disappoted when beme obv.

MY TEEN SON SAYS HE'S GAY

He never wanted to be gay. To iends of me who may have gay children, or be gay themselv, please five me for my ignorance. I don’t know if I’ll ever be “okay” wh the gay liftyle, but right now, I am okay wh my son beg gay, and right now, that is all that matters.

What would you do if your child told you they were gay?

My 17-year-old son and I got to a b of a heated argument this weekend and the midst of my son said he's gay. My hband says that he has always thought that our son is gay and that if he's gay, he's gay.

MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?

There are no other gays our fay as far as I know. It is highly unlikely that your son told you that he is gay simply to upset you. Gay kids often tell their parents about their sexualy the middle of a fight bee they feel that they have nothg left to lose sce you are already upset wh them.

It is probably more likely that he has known that he is gay for some time.