madscience

My friends have an 8 year old boy who wants to be a girl. Theyre doing a great job of being sensitive to his needs. Theyve enrolled him in ballet and ice skating, both of which he loves. He can play dress-up at home, but he knows that doing so elsewhere might not be such a great idea. Since he cant wear his sisters skating dress to the ice rink (one of his favorite dresses), they made him a skating shirt of the same fabric. He isnt pushed to play sports, which he has no interest in. Up until this point my friends had been winging it with regard to parenting him (and doing a great job, IMO). Then this week, he looked up at them with sad, sad eyes and asked, why cant I be a girl?

What do you say to your sad, sad boy who wants to be a girl? This is the first time hes expressed sadness about his different interests. My friends are in the process of looking for a sensitive therapist for him, and theyre looking for any kind of guidance about how best to parent him. The pflag website isnt super helpful because it seems to focus on adults & teens, not young children and their parents. And apparently, the typical parenting books dont usually cover this topic!

I think theyll do just fine if they continue to trust their instincts. But if anyone out there knows of any resources for them, please let me know!