LGBTQ+ Youth & Adult Resources: Parents

"I’m gay.” When a child confides these words to a parent, they can totally transform the relationship. Whether that results in a closer bond or a broken one is dependent upon the parent's ability to accept, nurture and honor the child, whatever his or her sexual orientation. Coming Around is a resource for understanding and coming to terms with a child’s sexual orientation and maintaining a dialogue between parent and child. With compassion and wisdom, Dohrenwend addresses parents' fears regarding what to say and what not to say, bigotry and social and religious prejudice, the legal issues facing LGBT individuals and how to understand homophobia.

No two children who bend the "rules" of gender do so in quite the same way, but all gender-nonconforming children have one thing in common: they need support to thrive in a society that still subscribes to a binary system of gender. Dr. Ehrensaft offers parents, clinicians, and educators guidance on both the philosophical dilemmas and the practical, daily concerns of working with children who don't fit a "typical" gender mold. She debunks outmoded approaches to gender nonconformity that may actually do children harm. and offers a new framework for helping each child become their own unique, most gender-authentic person.

The Gender Identity Workbook for Kids offers fun, age-appropriate activities to help your child explore their identity and discover unique ways to navigate gender expression at home, in school, and with friends. Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children need validation and support on their journey toward self-discovery. There are steps you can take to empower your child as they explore, understand, and affirm their gender identity. This important workbook will guide you both.

Going through puberty and adolescence presents unwelcome changes for many transgender youth, and this book provides advice to parents of transgender teens to help them understand what their child is experiencing and feeling during this challenging time. Addressing common fears and concerns that parents of transgender teens share, the book guides them through steps they can take with their child, including advice on hormones and surgery and how to transition socially.

Written by top experts in the field, Raising the Transgender Child offers much-needed answers to all the questions parents and other adults ask about raising and caring for transgender and gender diverse children.

Straight Parents, Gay Children is Robert Bernstein's moving account of how he came to terms with his daughter's homosexuality and how the experience has enriched his life. Bernstein discusses the myths surrounding homosexuality, accepting the news, parents who speak out, public figures who have gay children, and more. StraightParents, Gay Children is a survival guide for all parents who wish to help their gay children cope with the cruelty they may face in life.

Written in an accessible Q&A format, here, finally, is the go-to resource for parents hoping to understand and communicate with their gay child. Through their LGBTQ-oriented site, the authors are uniquely experienced to answer parents' many questions and share insight and guidance on both emotional and practical topics. Filled with real-life experiences from gay kids and parents, this is the book gay kids want their parents to read.

From coming out, to raising children, from wedding day ceremonies to separations and divorce, the stories found in these pages show how families can come together or fall apart, but also offer hope and guidance for those who want to be supportive parents and in-laws, and to adult children who hope to maintain healthy relationships with their parents after marriage.