Posted on 02/08/2008 10:12:20 AM PST by redrunner
The parents of an 8-year-old boy who wants to live and be treated as a girl have been working with the Douglas County School District to allow their child to attend school as a girl.
The child attended the unnamed school two years ago, and the family and the district have been talking since last fall about the child re-enrolling, said district spokeswoman Whei Wong.
"The discussion has been how best to do it," Wong said Thursday. The goal, she said, is "to ensure the kid feels safe physically and emotionally and other kids don't feel threatened in any way."
Wong said some parents have contacted school officials asking for clarification and direction. "Some parents are really concerned and freaked out about it."
A concerned parent, who asked not to be identified, told 9News, "I see this as being a very difficult situation to explain to my daughter . . . why someone would not want to be the gender they were born with."
A national nonprofit group, TransYouth Family Advocates, has provided assistance in handling the situation.
Transgender children, who are born as one sex and identify with the other, are not uncommon but are not understood by parents and society, TransYouth president Shannon Garcia said.
Parents "don't understand this is a health condition. They don't know why their children are like this, and they don't know where to find help," she said.
Society fears "what they don't understand," she said. "Gender identification and sexual orientation are two very different things."
Laura Thor, a Denver licensed clinical social worker, said parents of transgender children "are relying on the goodness and tolerance of the rest of the public to respond to this child favorably."
Schoolmates and their parents need help in becoming less uncomfortable with the child's looking different and being called by a different name, Thor said.
Is this South Park?
The lunatics rule the asylum now.
“Parents “don’t understand this is a health condition.”
It is a health condition: mental health.
Did I miss something or did they leave out any comment by the parents? Seems strange that they did...
The parents need a nice new coat with long sleeves that tie in the back and a room with lots of soft padding with no windows.
“Transgender children, who are born as one sex and identify with the other, are not uncommon but are not understood by parents and society, TransYouth president Shannon Garcia said.”
WELL!!! I’m shocked...SHOCKED, Shannon would make such a statement...
This kid has either been abused, or the parents are messing with his head.
It's a mental condition and it's also an attention getter.
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Let’s see...eight years old...that would have put this kid in Kindergarten about the time Mr. Garrison was re-hired.
Where are the parents in this? Do they not see how much they are screwing up their son's life? My older daughter went through a phase where she wanted to BE a horse. We smiled and let her work through it, not demand that everyone treat her as one. Kids go through phases and the best thing a parent can do is let them enjoy their fantasy but keep them in real life
So as a teacher, when I have this type of kid, is he a he? or a her? or a shem? What about when he wears pants? Is he a boy or a girl that day?
Geez parents let their kids have too much control over their world.
I think you are right , it is a metal condition & an attention getter. I am all out goodness & tolerance toward these crazy things anymore too. If they want to have their own school they pay for, fine. However I don't feel its fair to normal children to have James be Jamie all of a sudden. Why do these issues have to be pushed on to children that are trying to lead normal lives?
I don’t understand what the child’s parents are thinking. If you feel your child is in so much ‘emotional pain’ that they need to change their gender, don’t force the kid’s friends/school to deal with the issues this brings up. Home school the child for a while, while you get any ‘legalities’ worked out, and then move/enroll them in a completely new school with their new name/gender from the beginning. Seem’s like it would be ‘safer’ for the child that way...
That’s exactly right.
And I feel sorry for the people afflicted with such illnesses which are vey real by the way...because they won’t get the help they truly need.
I guarantee, if the kid were involved heavily in a Christain church family he/she would have a better chance at normalcy!
And I’m talking about a Christ centered celebrate recovery type program.
Pretty sad ! I have an 8 year old boy myself and we sometimes talk. He was asking questions on how boys and girls are different. I did not even go into the details on the difference of “plumbing” but I asked him on how he would like to play with dolls and his replay is “sick, yuck” and I then mentioned that he answered his own question. He likes cars, playing shoot’em up video games, motorcycles but dislikes female items !
I cant help it..
This school district is Wheiwi Wong..
The mission statement from the “transkids purple rainbow foundation”:
TKPRF is committed to the premise that Gender Identity Disorder is something a child can’t control and it is society that needs to change, not them.
TKPRF will strive to encourage families to allow their children the ability to grow-up free of gender roles.
TKPRF is committed to enhancing the future lives of TransKids by educating schools, peers, places of worship, the medical community, government bodies, and society in general, in an effort to seek fair and equal treatment of all transyouth.
TKPRF is committed to supporting TransKids in their school systems so they may receive equal rights in order to ensure a safe and bully free education.
TKPRF is committed to funding research to study the current plight and challenges of the transchild. There are currently no formal studies, books or data that can help guide parents when making decisions for treatment. Families are often met by resistance and healthcare professionals that give them incorrect, and at times, detrimental medical advice. There is an urgent need for curriculum changes in universities and medical school to meet the needs of all transgender individuals.
TKPRF plans to reach out to the homeless youth and those that have no where else to turn. Funds for healthcare, surgery and scholarships can be made available to transyouth in need.
TKPRF is aware that sex and gender are seen and used interchangeable in legal arenas. These two entities are very separate and need to be divided. It is time for the politicians to listen and for the medical professionals to speak up. It is time for the young voices of TransKids to be heard.
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Not usually. Not unless people make it an issue.
The more they push, the more *cases* they will discover.
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