Quote From: seenfff Yes, I am a parent to a three year old.
No, I would not punish my child for experimenting with opposing gender associated materials.
No, I would not influence the child with either Positive nor Negative Reinforcement methods, and I definitely wouldn't use Postive or Negative Punishments for doing so.
Yes, I would seek a professional opinion if my child was seriously viewing his or herself as the opposite gender. However, my child is in the phase where I can break a cookie into twenty pieces, and my child's perception would indicate twenty cookies.
I absolutely see no reason why a child should not be able to experiment his or her perception of his or her self. I would rather allow my child to feel comfortable doing so in front of me rather than behind my back where I'll miss indications; I would be well-advised to seek professional aid.
There is a world of difference between a child who knows the educational terms and a child who understands those terms. I should be 100% sure that my child understands before I move to the next step. Factor in affordability and 18 is approximately where I'd be able to cover it. By then, the child would be old enough to legally make the decision his or her self.
Look at my position objectively. We agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a child exploring their self, and we agree that surgerical gender change should be socially acceptable.
We differ between in where a child is making an adult decision and the parents following through and if the child understands the decision.
Would you not question my decision making if I appeared to be making a decision primarily based on avoiding suicidal depression? Or, would this not cause enough to question the person?
If I hadn't gotten this kind of cause for concern, I wouldn't have questioned you. Other than sharing my position and why as well as attempting to counter those religious comments, I haven't had cause to question.
Ok, let me ask you this.
If a child repeated tells a parent, he or she was meant to have been the opposite gender from 5-16. Who is distressed because the mental and physical image do not match despite multiple attempts to try appearing so in the mirror. Who was forced to wear the opposite gender's clothes dominantly when the parents were out, who later was taken to professionals for a diagnoisis.
Would you diagnois this child? If so, would you reccommend hormonal therapy and surgery to correct the problem? Or more to the point, how would you handle this situation?
"There is a world of difference between a child who knows the educational terms and a child who understands those terms. I should be 100% sure that my child understands before I move to the next step. Factor in affordability and 18 is approximately where I'd be able to cover it. By then, the child would be old enough to legally make the decision his or her self."
So if you could afford to help the child prior to the age of 18 you would be willing? And you are assuming that I did not go through any of this vetting process with my child?
Would you not question my decision making if I appeared to be making a decision primarily based on avoiding suicidal depression? Or, would this not cause enough to question the person?
So you are assuming that my decision was made primarily based on avoiding suicidal depression?
I can't say for certain but I don't think I would question what decisions you as a parent made to prevent your child from taking his/her life. I don't know you or your child or all of the things that led you to that point. I think that it would be pretty presumptuous of me to question you or your decisions. Ultimately my opinion is not relevant.
Who was forced to wear the opposite gender's clothes dominantly when the parents were out, who later was taken to professionals for a diagnosis
Again, assumptions...who said anything about forcing a particular style of dress? Who is doing what while the parents are out? Taken later than what for diagnosis? I don't know what you are trying to say.
Would you diagnois this child? If so, would you reccommend hormonal therapy and surgery to correct the problem? Or more to the point, how would you handle this situation?
Assumptions again? I am not a clinician and therefore do not diagnose children with anything. I also do not make recommendations for hormonal therapy or surgery.
Clearly you are very invested in making some point here and I'm missing it. All I asked is if you were a parent. I was curious to know if you had children. I really have no idea what your post is trying to say.
You don't know me. You don't know my child. You don't know what professionals we have consulted over what period of time or for what conditions or diagnosis. Yet you seem pretty certain that you are more capable of an 'objective' assessment of the proper medical treatment and time line for my child than his parents and his health care team.
Who died and left you in charge?
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..
