Trans Lifeline Library:
Parents of Trans Youth
Resources for the parents/caregivers
of transgender youth & teens
Image: Parnassus Books, Nashville, Tennesse – Jennifer-Finney-Boylan
For Parents of Trans Youth
Family Safety
What is a Safe Folder?
A safe folder is a collection of documents about your child that you can keep in a binder or folder in order to protect your family and educate others.
Ensuring Privacy and Appropriate Disclosure
Once your child’s gender identity has been shared with someone, it can’t be unshared. Their consent for you to share this information is incredibly important–the most basic respect you can give trans people is the right to self-determine how out or visible they want to be.
Welcome To The Club
Introduction
First of all, don’t panic! If your child has recently come out to you, or if you think they might, you’re in good company. This can feel like a huge change for your family– fortunately, support, community, and resources are more widely available than ever before.
Trans 101 (Binary and Non-Binary, Spectrum)
Learning about the various ways that people experience and describe gender can feel overwhelming at first, and that’s okay.
Showing Acceptance, Validation
Studies have repeatedly shown that trans kids who receive support at home are less likely to experience depression, anxiety, or suicidality–being trans doesn’t cause mental illness, but being abandoned or rejected by your family and community does.
Helping Your Child Transition
Social Transition
Social transition is the non-medical process of adopting the name, pronouns, and/or gender expression (clothes, haircuts, etc.) that feels most aligned with a trans person’s identity.
Medical Transition
Medical transition is the physical transition process that most people think of when it comes to trans folks.
Legal Transition
Legal transition is the process of pursuing a name and/or gender marker change on vital documents, so that trans people can legally use the name and gender marker with which they identify when it comes to things like banking, government business, education, healthcare, and their career.
Advocating For Your Child in School
Communicating with Administrators and Teachers
Learn how to best advocate for your child in school.
You and Your Child’s Rights in School/Academics
Learn about your child’s rights and Title IX.
Other Resources
Inclusive Sex Ed
Kidpower.org (which includes Teenpower
and Fullpower adult safety)
is the global nonprofit leader in personal safety education for all ages, teaching skills for strong relationships and the prevention of harm.
Areas of expertise include bullying, assault, and abuse prevention as well as strategies to protect safety in the face of prejudice-based harm…
Mailing Address
23332 Farmington Rd #84
Farmington, MI 48336
Call
248.907.4853