Supporting your gay teen

While being a teen can be difficuly enough, gay teens face additional challenges. Many gay youth report feeling unsafe in their school due to their sexual orientation, with a majority reporting being verbally harassed and many also subjected to violence. Even more painful, many gay youth are rejected by their own families. Imagine having to go from an unaccepting school environment to a household that's equally unfriendly. Gay youth make up a disproportionately high number of homeless teens, and no wonder: these kids often don't have a "home" or safe place to go when coping with harassment and abuse, and may even be forced from their homes by families who can’t, or won’t, accept them.

If your child is gay or conflicted about sexual orientation or gender identity, he or she needs extra support. You can help by:

• Loving and accepting your child exactly as he or she is.
• Acknowledging that as difficult as it might be for you to hear this news, it was much more difficult for your child to tell you.
• Remembering that some gay teens are at risk for anxiety, depression, attempted suicide and other problems.
• Seeking guidance from outside counselors, health care providers and websites like this one.

Resources for information and support

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG): PFLAG is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members and supporters and over 500 affiliates in the United States. PFLAG’s support efforts provide encouragement and resources to parents, families, friends, as well as LGBT people themselves. In more recent years, they’ve added special outreach programs for transgender people and their loved ones and straight spouses of LGBT individuals.

Advocates for Youth: Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit focused on efforts that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health, offers Ten Tips for Parents of a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Child.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): The AAP offers information about gay teens and advice for parents.