All Under One Roof

    LGBT Resource Centers of Southeastern Idaho

Now That You Know

 

Accepting your child's sexual orientation or gender identity and educating yourself on the subject takes time. Young people often expect their parents and families to understand immediately, but many can not do this. 

One thing that is crucial for you to understand is that it has probably taken your loved one a very long time to put all the pieces of their puzzle together to finally come to a place of understanding their sexual orientation or gender identity. It will most likely take you some period of time to fully understand and hopefully accept this fact too. In fact, it is often said by families that when their child "came out" of the closet, many of the parents went right in to their own closet for awhile…. meaning that they too were confused, unsure and felt like hiding from others because they needed to carry the secret. If that’s what you find yourself doing initially, don’t worry. You won’t be in that state forever. What you must do to move forward is to begin educating yourself and begin talking about it with others. 

Now that you know, it is up to you to begin to understand your loved one. Keep in mind the positives! They won’t all happen overnight, but they will happen if you let them. 

The "positives" include: 

--No more emotional distance, hiding, half-truths, stress, anxiety and fear suffered by your loved one. 

--A new understanding of and closeness to your loved one --An appreciation that your loved one is really no different than before you found out you only know one additional piece of information; your loved one hasn’t changed in demeanor, character, or ethics. 

--A new understanding of human diversity and appreciation of people, some to become your friends, which you might otherwise never have come to know. We hope that these pages are helpful to you and your family in your journey together.