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Gender Terminology  |
Finding Support For many parents, these initial stages of understanding and accepting can be overwhelming or even seem impossible. Feelings of concern, shock, embarrassment, and confusion can occur—sometimes all at the same time! As with other life changes, we may experience anger, disbelief, sadness, grief, as well as a sense of loss. Parents understandably feel torn, but these feelings are all a normal part of the acceptance process. Acceptance is critical. Our children’s gender identity is out of our hands, but their well-being is not. Being supportive rather than assigning blame has a profound impact on how our children feel about themselves. Research shows that parental acceptance is critical to our children’s positive future outlook on life. Our level of acceptance directly impacts their self-esteem. These studies conclude that the most crucial thing we as parents can do is to allow our children to be exactly who they are. Additionally, if our other children see evidence of our acceptance, they will more easily adjust to their gender non-conforming sibling. Acceptance and understanding can take time. This is normal. The more we can address our feelings and fears directly, the smoother our transition will be. Open communication is vital to establishing a long term foundation for parents and children to be a healthy, functioning family. |
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