Transgender children everywhere
Meet with the school leaders and teachers. Schools are a critical piece of the support puzzle. It is our job to stop making them.īe prepared to ensure your child is respected and safe wherever they go. It is not the job of our trans children to make us feel better about our mistakes. If you make a mistake, correct yourself and move forward. How would it feel if people consistently got them wrong? If you are having a hard time switching pronouns - practice, practice, practice. Explore book lists and find stories that your child will enjoy. Our book is one such story, but there are many, many others. Not sure where to start? Reach out to us - we will use our network to get you connected.įind books where your child can see themselves in the characters. Join online groups or find a local chapter of an organisation. Get involved in local Pride or other LGBTQ+ programming so that your child can meet other trans youth. You are not alone - and neither is your child! Tens of thousands of families supporting their children are here for you. The more you know, the easier it will be to affirm your child. Connect with organisations like The Human Rights Campaign, which provides resources around trans youth. When writing this piece, we asked Ellie for their advice and they said, “Let kids be themselves.” This is true even for our youngest children. We wrote this book for kids like Calvin and Ellie, parents like us, and maybe just as importantly, the people around them: the grown-ups and kids learning to support the gender-expansive kids in their classes, on their teams and in their neighborhoods.Īs we talk with parents from around the country who are just joining this amazing journey, we are often asked, “What should we do?” Here’s a little bit of what we’ve learned.Įarly on, we met with a wise therapist who noted that people are who they say they are until they tell you otherwise. In our picture book, “Calvin,” we tell the story of a little boy who shares some of Ellie’s experience: Like Ellie, he tells his parents about his true self, his self “in his heart and his brain,” and with the support of his community, he is able to live authentically. They are proud of living an authentic life. Their teachers have been transformative and affirming, and they have a core group of friends. The family poses with the new book, ‘Calvin’, written by J.R.
We quickly learned that families were fighting everywhere just to have their children live as their true selves, and we determined we were going to be on the right side of our child’s journey. Maybe it’s because we had already begun to watch the fights of fellow parents for their children to use the restroom at school or play on sports teams that match their identity. Perhaps it was the 21 transgender women who were murdered that year just for living their lives authentically, many of them people of colour like Ellie. As parents, we have an obligation to educate ourselves about the needs of our children and provide them with every opportunity for happiness and success in life. In our minds, we didn’t have another option. Yes, there was a hurricane of emotions and questions - our own and others’.īut we knew, without a doubt, that we would provide a safe and loving path for our child to realise their own happiness.
Gone was our shy child, who now pronounced, “I’m Ellie! E -L- L- I -E!” And in Ellie, who uses they/them pronouns, we saw smiles and laughter. The fact that at this very moment everything was about to change. The “Frozen” obsession and the subsequent six months of wearing an Elsa dress on top of or underneath all outfits. The kid who didn’t like hugs and threw tantrums. The withdrawn child who wouldn’t talk to anyone.
TRANSGENDER CHILDREN EVERYWHERE MOVIE
In the second that followed, it was as if we were watching a movie of the previous two years of our child’s life on fast-forward. Ellie, who uses they/them pronouns, revealed their true identity on their fourth birthday Credit: Ford family via NBC Upon hearing those words, our child stopped, turned, looked Vanessa in the eye and firmly said, “Mum, I’m not a boy. “We hope you had the very best birthday, our sweet Princess Boy.” For more Parenting related news and videos check out Parenting >