#Butterfly hit home last night, it made me think what would of happened if when we took our depressed 5year old to the child psychologist, we'd had advice, now seen as harmful, to "keep it in check". Instead we listened to our child, went at their pace, & she's thriving.
We got lucky, we did the research, followed emerging best practice, & didnt cave to the intensive stigma of a society where trans children are either feared or obsessed over. By telling the world about trans children, #Butterfly will make it easier for parents with trans kids.
Parents are still being told, by relatives, GPs, & even by some of the 'specialists' to keep their children's gender 'in check', to repress, hide, & punish gender diverse behaviours & expression. This is harmful to trans children. It teaches they are something shameful & wrong.
Teaching a child to be ashamed of who they are, even if done with best intentions, can create, self loathing, depression, & may lead to lifelong mental health issues. Instead you can allow your child to express their gender. For younger kids this is simple - name/pronoun/clothes
Clothes & gender expression (toys/activities) have no gender (other than rules placed on them by society) & by themselves a desire to wear a dress / dance / paint nails, does not mean your child is trans, just that they are awesome. Have fun smashing the stereotypes together.
If though your child is flinching when they are called a boy or he/him, if they're persistent & consistent that they don't just like 'girls things' but that they ARE a girl, you might have a #butterfly. Don't clip their wings. Let them fly! Butterfly's are beautiful & amazing.
