Gay youth often face their set of challeng after g out about their genr preferenc.
Contents:
- WHEN YOUR CHILD IS GAY
- PARENTG A GAY CHILD
- PARENTS OF GAY CHILDREN AND THE ISSU THEY FACE
- WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
- 5 THGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT RAISG A GAY CHILD
- EARLY SIGNS TO TELL YOUR CHILD IS GAY
WHEN YOUR CHILD IS GAY
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. * gay as a 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.
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 * gay as a child *
Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbian and Gays (PFLAG).
PARENTS OF GAY CHILDREN AND THE ISSU THEY FACE
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. "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. "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.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
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? 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.
5 THGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT RAISG A GAY CHILD
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.
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.
EARLY SIGNS TO TELL YOUR CHILD IS GAY
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. 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. Parents of gay children may be shocked when their kids e out of the closet, but once the dt settl, most parents realize that their child is the same one they have loved and red for all their liv, they jt happen to be gay. And while parental acceptance is one hurdle for a gay child, there are many other issu facg gay kids and their parents.