It’s normal to feel many different emotions after your child comes out as transgender. You may feel confusion, sadness, overwhelm, doubt, fear, relief, joy, and even anger. The most common feeling that parents experience is grief. It’s also the feeling that brings the most shame, confusion, and cause for concern. After all, our children are… Continue reading Grief After Your Child Comes Out is Complicated
When your child comes out as transgender, it’s normal to grieve the idea of the child you thought you had. We’ve had years, sometimes decades, to think about our children in one way. The idea of that child has lived in our minds, hearts, and home, and it doesn’t disappear overnight when our children tell… Continue reading Letting Go of the Child You Thought You Had
When you first learn your child is transgender, it’s normal to feel many different emotions. You may experience grief, sadness, fear, guilt, worry, anger, anxiety, and denial, to name a few. You might even feel some of those emotions at the same time. They are all normal reactions to the overwhelming experience of learning new… Continue reading It’s Normal to Feel Emotional After Your Child Comes Out as Transgender
As parents, the greatest gift we give our children is love and support. From the time they are small, our children look to us for validation that our love for them is strong, unconditional, and will not end. This is even more true when our children come out as transgender. They worry that our love… Continue reading You Can’t Love Your Child and Reject Them for Being Transgender
The holidays can be complicated if this is the year you learned you are the parent of a transgender child. In fact, they may be complex, no matter how many years it has been. You may feel sad, overwhelmed, or not in the holiday spirit. You may wonder how to deal with personalized items, holiday… Continue reading Navigating the Holidays
Are you searching for good gifts for parents of transgender children? Look no further. I’ve collected an assortment of gifts that would be appropriate for moms, dads, or guardians. There are no photos of the individual items, so the page will load quickly and not clog down mobile phones, but once I got past the… Continue reading Gifts For Parents of Transgender Children
Recently I wrote a post about worrying about things outside of your control. In it, I talked about how as parents, we fear for our kid’s safety, and while it’s normal to worry, excessive worry and fear undermine our trust in our kids and our ability to parent. I stand by what I said. But… Continue reading When Your Child Isn’t Safe
We moved into our house Labor Day weekend, 2001. We were nearing our 30s, and our kids were 6.5 and newly 4. My mom lived in MD, and my dad traveled between MA and VA. On all sides, the rest of our family lived an hour an a half in any direction. We had no… Continue reading When Other’s Stand in the Gap For Your Child
I’ve written a lot about grief on this website. The most-read post is about how you can grieve and support your child. I wrote that post in response to an article in the New York Times that said grieving the transition of a transgender child is transphobic. It still makes me mad to think about… Continue reading Grief Looks Different For Everyone
While I didn’t understand what being transgender meant when my son Leo came out, I supported him immediately. I knew that members of the LGBTQ+ community who had supportive family members thrived compared to those who did not. Besides, whatever I felt about Leo being transgender, I needed to work out on my own. What… Continue reading When Your Partner or Spouse is Unsupportive of Your Child
