8 Feb 2019

Being the parent of a transgender child

From Afternoons, 1:29 pm on 8 February 2019

How should you react when your teenage child tells you they're transgender?

It seems like a simple question, but for a lot of parents it takes them into unknown and poorly-understood territory.

Sharyn Forsyth runs NZ Parents of Transgender Children - a support group which helps parents guide their children through a testing emotional and psychological period in their lives.

She joins us to talk about the experience, the challenges, and the important things to keep at the front of your mind in this situation.

Sharyn Forsyth and her son Jack.

Sharyn Forsyth and her son Jack. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

And RNZ's Susan Strongman has written a piece exploring the issue of gender self-identification and the emotional toll of the cumbersome processes as things are - you can find that here.