Quote:
Originally Posted by Christien
L.J. nailed it in terms of policy wording and what needs to be changed.
But Rick I disagree that elementary school is too young to expose kids to the issue of transgendered people. I have a personal stake in this: my girls are 9 and 6, and my wife's cousin has recently come out as trans. We don't see him very often - once a year at the most, but we're going to have to figure out how to explain it to our kids, most likely at Christmas. And we'll just be frank and honest about it. These people exist in the world around us, as friends, neighbours colleagues and family members, simple as that.
On a personal level, I'm glad about the whole situation - I've always been very open to whatever lifestyle someone wants to live, so long as it doesn't hurt other people. Frankly, I've never understood why anyone cares where someone else likes to put their willy. But I never took trans people seriously - I always assumed it was a fetish or similar that people were trying to legitimize. But watching my wife's cousin go through this has forced me to confront the issue and change my beliefs about it. And in the end, it doesn't bother me one wit.
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A good and thoughtful post Christien.
I would just say that each child is different and I think it would be best left to the parents who know them best to decide when the time is right to delve into these issues. It sounds like you are going to address transgender issues somewhat out of necessity so your kids can function in a social situation with the family. That's completely appropriate. It sounds also, though, like you have not spontaneously brought up this issue in the past with your kids even though your daughter is 9. That's kind of my point. If there is a need to address it, fine. If not, then many parents would decide to wait until the child is older and the parent should have the right to make that call.