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Topic : 10/29 Gender Confused Children

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Created on : Friday, October 24, 2008, 02:51:47 pm
Author : DrPhilBoard1
Dr. Phil tackles the sensitive topic of children who identify more with the opposite sex. What do you do if your son wants to wear dresses and play with dolls? Or if your daughter tells you she wants to be a boy? Should parents chock it up to being a phase that their children will grow out of, or should they intervene right away? Meet Melissa and Tim, whose 8-year-old son declared himself to be a girl when he was just 3 years old. Now, they allow their child to live as a girl and wonder if and when they should begin hormone therapy. Then, when Mary’s son was 8, he told her he felt like a girl, and Mary allowed him to experiment with dressing as a female. Now a teenager, her son is more comfortable living as a male -- but Mary wonders if she caused his confusion. Joining the discussion are experts with differing points of view: Dr. Dan Siegel, professor and clinical psychiatrist at UCLA School of Medicine, and Glenn Stanton, author and research fellow with the organization Focus on the Family. Is gender identity something we’re born with, or is it influenced by parents and environment? Don’t miss this heated discussion, then talk about the show here..

Find out what happened on the show.

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October 29, 2008, 4:47 pm PDT

If ur confused, let me share

Quote From: mommy_312

Some people who can't figure out things on their own quote what they hear... whether that be from church, friends or family.  I am a Christian, but I wish that more people would think rather than say, "GOD SAID, NO NO LITTLE ONE..."  Sometimes it feels like we live in a do not think for yourself world...

 

I no longer want to be identified with "christian" because of the mean spiritedness of believers, which i personally have been harmed by, ( i learned those that harmed me are not at fault, its the dogma.  Like Christ said, Forgive them for they know NOT....)  That is what my quote is about, only i probably should not have applied it to the person i did and just open up my own message.  If my protocol was improper, I apologize. 

 

PS...your sarcasm is subtle but not without notice

 
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October 29, 2008, 4:47 pm PDT

Come on..

They are talking about kids that think they are the oppisite sex. Like a boy that thinks he is a girl because he was interested in bras and nail polish. Like seariousally, come on. Just because they are interested in bras and what ever, and say that they want to be a girl when they grow up doesn't mean anything. I agree with the specialist. "When I was 5, I wanted to be a horse." So what? Maybe they just have creative minds. It doesn't mean that they wont grow up to be something amazing.. Give them some time. Maybe when they are 12 or whatever they will be like "BAHAHA." Or maybe he is ment to be a girl.. Have you ever thought that maybe they were ment to be crossdressers or something?
 
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October 29, 2008, 4:52 pm PDT

My Son

My son's favorite toy as a  baby was a stuffed doll with the talking box removed. Try to take it from him he would scream. Then when he was 4-10 he loved to play with doll houses, He would remove and dacoratet eh homes great. He was the greatest home decorated you could believe. He loved to cook and sew. Today he is very much a man, and the mother's of his children would let you know. Maybe when they hit 18 19 and they just can't stand woman or their gentnals or whatever then they need seek consuling and changing, but as a child, who knows if you are boy or girl half the time anyway. I was more a boy than any of my friends, I didn't have many girlfriends at all. the bff that's it. But ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, I don't want to have any fun with their bodies.

 
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October 29, 2008, 4:52 pm PDT

Good point... but

Quote From: gigglygirl98

   I think there is nothing wrong for a child wanting to dress a certain way. When you think about a girl wanting to dress in boy clothes or wanting to play sports such as hockey or tykwon do you let them? you dont say well that is a boy sport or you may get hurt and say no. So explain why  a few flowers or kitty cats on clothes define someone, or even some pink shoe laces. What is barbie dolls in a bedroom, they are toys. I have two daughters and I let them play with cars and legos.. What is the difference. If a child is happy and enjoys being the way they are who are we to take that away.  I know you should explain how someone else out of the home may look at them and treat them differently but let them decide what they want and like. We are here to support them and be there for them in decisions they make, and keep them safe and out of crime. Dressing differently doesnt hurt no one and is not a against the law.

It WILL hurt them though.  If they are picking their nose or wetting themselves in class or whatever, the sooner the behavior stops the better it is for them don't you think.  If your kid is sucking it's thumb at 15 your going to look pretty silly for putting up with that. 

It SHould be againt the law for little kids to dress like the OPPOSITE SEX of all things!  Prostitution and marijuana are against the law and they aren't hurting anyone Exept  the people doing them either.  So why are americans on board with this?   At some point morals need to become the cool thing to have.  I don't know if i want kids because i don't want to explain what homoanything means.  And I just don't want kids anyways but i'm just saying keep it in the bedroom and your sexuality doesn't define you, it isn't your DNA it's just a preference it's nothing special it's nothing to be ashamed of.  And if it is so right to be gay Why are 'gays' in the closet, ashamed?  If it's so natural why have guilt? 

 

 
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October 29, 2008, 4:53 pm PDT

Gender feelings

I can remember as far back as 4 or 5 of wanting to play the boy games and always wore pants. I hated to wear dresses. I continued to be raised as a girl as I never said anything to any one about my feelings. I have always felt better being around guys. I have never felt comfortable around women. Though I am married, during sex in order to reach orgazam I have to pretend I am with another female or that I am the guy.

 

I do not believe it has anything to do with how your parents raise you. I feel it is all mentally. I have always wished I had a penis. I never even grew breast, so over 20 years ago, thinking it was the right thing to do I had breast implants. Now I wish I didn't have them. I was never going to have children because I didn't want any. I did have 1 child and had my tubes tied the next day, Later at the age of 32 I had a Hysterectomy.

Which I am not sorry I did.

 

My reccomendation to any one who feels like the other gender, just follow your feelings. If your mind changes as you get older then so be it. If it stays the same, then take the steps necessary to make you feel right.

 

 
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October 29, 2008, 4:57 pm PDT

10/29 Gender Confused Children

Quote From: jennyg82

Your above posting is so close minded and foolish. I know many gay people who had perfect wonderful childhoods and family life. It's close minded people LIKE YOU who do emotional damage!
i am.. woman and... i amGAY... and very proud!! i have known this from a very young age!! and like the above posting reads...it is people like you that make us feel alienated and damaged!! good thing i have a great head on my shoulders and know who i am and don't let narrow minded people affect me!!
 

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October 29, 2008, 5:06 pm PDT

10/29 Gender Confused Children

  Last time I checked, God didn't make mistakes!!!!
 
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October 29, 2008, 5:11 pm PDT

People need to know more about this topic

As a successful and very happy 57 year old transgender woman myself, I found the attitude of the "expert" in the audience and the Muslim couple to be demeaning, self-centered and ignorant.  The parents on this show were dealing with something is a well-defined condition that has been studied a great deal.  Transsexuality is a real condition.  I struggled with this from as far back as I can remember.  I knew that I was a girl and couldn't understand why people thought I was a boy.  If it would have been possible for someone to give me hormones to stop the change in me at puberty I would have jumped at it.  Instead I had to suffer through this is silence always trying to find a way to find my "place" in the world, at least what society said my place should be.  I ended up in two failed marriages with 2 children and having to hurt everyone close to me when I could no longer bear the pain.  There needs to be more information on this very real condition so people don't have to rely on gut reactions based on disinformation or misguided religious teachings.  These poor children going through this experience need to be listened to and talked to.  I grew up thinking I was I was the only one in the world who had this problem and had to deal with it all on my own.  It was a miserable existence.  No one can understand the pain of this or even understand how it feels to wake up every day of your life thinking only that you have to just make it through one more day....  Explaining this condition to most people is like trying to explain what colors are to someone who has been blind since birth.  There needs to be more talk about this from people who have been through it and from professionals who understand it. 
 
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October 29, 2008, 5:11 pm PDT

10/29 Gender Confused Children

I actually agree with the 1st mother a lot. I have a boyfriend who is going through this and he has been depressed about it for years and thought about suicide. He is finally going to a therapist and trying to figure out what he wants to do about it. We have been together for years and I had no idea that he felt this way until a few months ago. Some people feel so ashamed of this and hide it from people their whole lives and then it really hurts them and their relationships with others. I think at the very least that parents should be open with their kids on this subject if it gets brought up and not to oppress their child's feelings. It can lead to a long struggle of pain and heartache if they are not open to it as it did and is still doing to my boyfriend. It is hard for me and sometimes, I feel like I'm really confused as well, being that he doesn't know which way he wants to go with things. It is really hard when you have learned to identify someone a certain way and then for them to change that. I am trying to be as accepting as I can but I was brought up much differently and maybe the way a child is brought up can have something to do with this topic. Although I feel that telling the child that they are absolutely wrong and bulling them is the wrong way to deal with these things. Obviously people don't change that much from when they are children or else my boyfriend would have had a change of heart but he didn't and he is 27 now.
 
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October 29, 2008, 5:12 pm PDT

Please help these people.

I want to let everyone know that I grew up with feelings of being attracted to men and I am a man. I did my best, and was able to conceal my feelings and no one even knew. I had a decent upbringing, but I really wish I chould have been who I was. Now that I am older, I am so much happier being gay, and I am sure that Gender Confused Childer, ( at a certain age) would be much better off and happier being who they are. Society eventually will not look down on this (differant sexual preferances) and I can only hope it will be in my life time to see how happy these people will be.
 
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