Children need guidance on matters of gender, not immediate and unexamined affirmation, and indulgence. If we are interested in the safety, protection, and mental health of our students, the current approach for gender choices needs to be changed to one where parents and families deal with their children and decide what is best, and it needs to happen quickly.

When schools teach children that it’s possible (and common) for people to be in the wrong body, and then encourage them to explore the options of changing their male/female designation, allow them to decide, and then support the decision to pursue an alternative gender without allowing it to be assessed or questioned (or parents to be made aware), you contribute to the mental health problem among America’s young. 

Hiding the information from parents makes the problem worse.

Estimates vary by study, but they regularly show that 50%-90% of individuals that experience gender dysphoria have at least one other psychological condition*. That underlying psychological condition contributes to gender dysphoria in the majority of instances, yet when minor children exhibit the symptoms of gender dysphoria, schools, who admit that they do not have the expertise to deal with gender confusion issues, do not refer them to mental health experts for an assessment. Instead, when a child is unsure or confused about their gender (very often from the influence of social media and the schools themselves), schools affirm that choice, then keep it from the very people that have access to the child’s complete medical and psychological profile – the family.

We wrote the following in an earlier article, but it’s important for parents, and we think it’s worth reposting:

Gender confusion is a recognized psychological condition, not a biological reality. The instances of true gene or chromosome gaps and other biological anomalies that result in an instance of someone truly having a biological rationale for their gender confusion or anxiety are extremely rare, and in those instances, people that fall into this category require care that includes understanding the full medical and psychological profile of the individual. This is especially critical for a minor child.

Choosing an alternative gender when no such biological anomaly is present is a mental choice, and when that occurs, the cause can be any number of reasons that can range from a choice driven by social influence to it being the byproduct of an underlying psychiatric condition such as depression. When authority figures in a school system accept a child’s choice without understanding the cause(s) and do not include the parents so the full situation is considered, they are acting in support of a social ideology and not in the best interests of the child or family. They are interfering with the parent/child relationship and development that can very possibly directly interfere with whatever care the parents have been working on.

Children need guidance on matters of gender, not immediate and unexamined affirmation, and indulgence. If we are interested in the safety, protection, and mental health, the current approach for gender choices needs to be changed to one where parents and families deal with their children and decide what is best, and it needs to happen quickly.

Parents need to speak up and let the Board of Education know they want to see change.

Read our companion articles in this week’s Newsletter and web updates

• Why Policy 443, Creating a welcoming and tolerant environment for transgender and gender non-conforming students, is unnecessary and damaging to students and families. Read here.
• Parents need a wake-up call. Parents can get involved, and we explain how and why. (Coming to our website August 8)
• How many students are actually forced into homelessness when they tell their parents they are transgender? Read here.

*The citations and data that support these numbers are contained in previous articles posted by Transparency in Education.