Have you thought of what you would say if your child came out to you as LGBTQ? This is a question I often ask parents, and most say they have not or ask me why I would ask such a question, to which I respond, "Because you might be raising a child who is LGBTQ."
As a parent, you should be aware by now that a small percentage of all children eventually are going to identify as LGBTQ. In 2022, for example, a Gallup poll found that more than 7 percent of adult Americans now think of themselves this way, and you can be certain that they became aware of their attraction to the same sex when they were just kids. Mostly, though, they had no one to talk to about this.
It’s just a fact of life, and one that some parents are going to have to deal with. So, the question becomes: how? Most parents think they are raising heterosexual, cisgender kids and won’t think twice if little Johnny has a crush on Suzie in the third grade. In fact, teachers will often encourage exchanges of Valentine’s cards as an appropriate way to express their attraction. But what if Johnny has a crush Sammy? Or if Suzie feels attracted to Miss Jones, her teacher? Shouldn’t this be understood in the same way?
We live within a culture that overwhelmingly reinforces only heterosexual stereotypes. Think of the children’s stories like "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty." What if it’s a princess who wants to find the girl who lost her slipper at the ball the previous night? What if a........