Want to know more?
The best thing that you can do as a parent, family member, or ally is educate yourself. Do everything you can to understand what it means to be LGBTQ, but never forget that at the heart of it all - we're all the same. Included are additional videos, articles, and websites to help you better parent your LGBTQ child.
How can I help my transgendered child? Should they wait until they are older?On July 8, 2012, Dateline NBC aired a special segment about a transgendered girl. While the segment has some naysayers within the trans* population (for a full criticism click here), it does a good job of showing a family that's making the decision about whether to start hormone therapy or not. It's a difficult decision that needs to be make with your family and the help of a doctor, but you're not alone.
How to give the sex talk to my child?Talking about sex with your LGBTQ teen is increasingly important since most school health classes do not include lessons pertaining to LGBTQ teens. If your struggling with how to handle this, FOX's Glee did a surprisingly good job with this conversation between Burt Hummel (Mike O'Malley) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer).
On March 8, 2011, FOX's hit TV show Glee aired their episode "Sexy." The episode discussed sex in high school and discussed multiple approaches to talking about sex with your children. Shockingly, the network did what very few TV shows have done before, let alone a network show, and showed a safe sex talk between a father and his gay son. What follows is a sex talk that any child, LGBTQ or not could benefit from hearing. Enjoy!
LGBTQ Acceptance? Are we almost there?ABC's What Would You Do, a hidden camera show that tries to see how ordinary people act in morally ambiguous situations has recently done a few segments centered around the LGBTQ community and discrimination. How did people react when the rights of LGBTQ members were being threatened? We'd hope that bystanders would step in and defend our children against the hatred of the world- do they? Take a look.
|
Ten Tips for Parents of a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Child
Lisa Maurer a writer for Advocates for Youth, recently wrote an interesting article about the top ten things to do when your child comes out to you. We suggest reading this helpful guide and then spending some time exploring the awesome resources the provide on their website! Will they be safe? Common Fears of ParentsHuffington Post recently posted an article by Rick Clemons titled Parents of Gay Children: How To Be Supportive Despite These Common Fears. It discusses five common fears that all parents of LGBTQ children likely have and how to be supportive of your child in spite of them. It's a good read!
Must Read list for parents of LGBTQ children
1) Beyond Acceptance: Parents of Lesbians & Gays Talk About Their Experience by Carolyn W. Griffin 2) The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out by Robb Forman Dew 3) A Journey to Moriah by Gary Pool 4) Always My Child: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, or Questioning Son or Daughter by Kevin Jennings 5) Coming Out as Parents: You and Your Homosexual Child by David K. Switzer 6) Coming Out to Parents: A Two-Way Survival Guide for Lesbians and Gay Men and Their Parents by Mary Borhek 7) A Family and Friends Guide to Sexual Orientation: Bridging the Divide Between Gay and Straight by Bob Powers 8) Family Outing: A Guide for Parents of Gays, Lesbians & Bisexuals by Joy Dickens 9) Jocks: True Stories of America's Gay Male Athletes by Dan Woog 10) Mom, Dad, I'm Gay: How Families Negotiate Coming Out by Ritch C. Savin-Williams 11) My Child is Gay: How Parents React When They Hear the News by Bryce McDougall 12) Now That You Know: A Parents' Guide to Understanding Their Gay and Lesbian Children by Betty Fairchild 13) Queer Family Values: Rethinking the Myths of the Nuclear Family by Valerie Lehr 14) Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together by Robert A. Bernstein Family Acceptance ProjectThe Family Acceptance Project seeks to research, intervene, and education to decrease health risks for LGBTQ youth. They aim to decrease suicide rates, substance abuse, HIV, and homelessness through promoting family acceptance. They work with culturally and religiously diverse families to decrease the likelihood of rejection of LGBTQ youth. They are always accepting donations to help fund this organization which has been recognized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for their work. If you are looking for more information, check out this awesome video then go to their website for more information (Family Acceptance Project, 2013).
It's just not how I was raised...If you are a christian, a common first thought once your child comes out will be, "what does this mean about their relationship with God." It's okay to think this. It's normal. However, you should know that it's not your child's choice to be like this. Six:11 Ministries put out an excellent article for the Christian parent titled Loving Your Child. If you are struggling in your faith now that your child has come out and are having a hard time accepting this, this is a great article to check out. It answers many questions you might have without dismissing your fears and belittling the grieving process you might be going through.
|