A direct appeal to parents to listen to their children
Dr Helen Webberley on Robby Starbuck: transition and children, Robby Starbuck
A lot of parents, when their child comes to them with something like this, assume the kindest thing they can do is redirect them, correct them, or find someone who will help them feel differently. They may not think of it as rejection. They may genuinely believe they are protecting their child.
What I know, from years of listening to trans people and their families, is that parental support is one of the most powerful things a child can have. Being trans is not a mental illness. The distress so many trans young people carry does not come from being trans: it comes from not being believed, not being supported, and sometimes from being sent to people whose job is to talk them out of who they are. Conversion therapy does not work. It causes harm. The thing that actually helps is a parent who says: I hear you, I am with you, I am not going anywhere.
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