The Transgender Child

This comprehensive first of its kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state. Through extensive research and interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the authors cover gender variance from birth through college. What do you do when your toddler daughter’s first sentence is that she’s a boy? What will happen when your preschool son insists on wearing a dress to school? Is this ever just a phase? How can you explain this to your neighbors and family? How can parents advocate for their children in elementary schools? What are the current laws on the rights of transgender children? What do doctors specializing in gender variant children recommend? What do the therapists say? What advice do other families who have trans kids have? What about hormone blockers and surgery? What issues should your college-bound trans child be thinking about when selecting a school? How can I best raise my gender variant or transgender child with love and compassion, even when I barely understand the issues ahead of us? And what is gender, anyway? These questions and more are answered in this book offering a deeper understanding of gender variant and transgender children and teens.

Reviews

“The Transgender Child is a ground-breaking book. It is a sophisticated and sympathetic look at the world unknown to many of us. Families with transgender children often suffer because of society’s prejudices. This book opens a door and shines a light on members of society who deserve the compassion and understanding of us all.”

—Peggy O’Mara, Editor and Publisher, Mothering

“A ‘must read’ for the families I see. I will suggest that parents provide copies to their school nurses and administrators. I will also recommend it to my colleagues in pediatrics and adolescent medicine. As a pediatrician, I find no greater pleasure than helping children grow and develop into happy, healthy, well-adjusted adults. This resource will help me in that goal for gender-variant and transgender youth.”

—Irene N. Sills, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, SUNY–Upstate Medical University, Joslin Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology