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Supporting Your Gay Teen
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- Do listen to what your child has to say about his or her life and experiences.
- Do take the time to seek information about the lives of GLBT people from parents of GLBT people, friends of your child, literature, and, most of all, directly from your child.
- Do get professional help for anyone in the family, including yourself, who becomes severely depressed over your child's sexuality or gender identity.
- Do accept that you are responsible for your negative reactions.
- Do respect your child's right to engage in loving relationships.
- Do try to develop trust and openness by allowing your child to be who she or he is without pressure.
- Do be proud of your child's capacity for having loving relationships.
- Do look for the injured feelings underneath the anger and respond to them.
- Do defend your child against discrimination.
- Do support your child's individual goals, even though they may differ drastically from your own.
- Do say "I love you."
PFLAG offers a free Q&A booklet for the parents of gay, lesbian, and bisexual children on their website; you can download it here.
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