Mediate Michigan

Whether you agree with your child’s decision or not, more children are “coming out” younger than ever before. There’s no reason to believe more children are gay, lesbian or bisexual. According to family therapists like Rebecca Harvey, author of “Nurturing Queer Youth”, adolescents finally have a language to describe their feelings. They know they’re “different” than their heterosexual peers, and fortunately have places to turn for the information they need to understand their thoughts and feelings. It’s difficult in a world where children see mostly heterosexual couples to understand how they can navigate the turbulent waters of their emerging sexuality. That’s why parents are so important.

It used to be if you knew you were gay or lesbian, you’d wait until you’d left home, then tell your parents. The process of coming out happened later, often after torturous years of feeling out of place with your peers, and afraid to be honest with your parents. According to research by Michael LaSala, these days more and more families who assumed their children were heterosexual are having to adjust while their teenagers are still at home and just beginning to date same sex partners. No longer can parents assume their child’s sexual orientation is what they expected it to be, nor that their child will keep it hidden when it isn’t.

via Parenting Gay and Lesbian Teens | Psychology Today.