Always My Child: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, or Questioning Son or Daughter

(Paperback)

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Description

The first book to focus on the day-to-day experiences of adolescents dealing with sexual identity issues, Always My Child provides the insights and practical strategies parents need to support their kids and cope themselves. Parents whose children are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or who are going through a "questioning phase" are often in the dark about what their children face every day. As a result, offering support that will comfort and fortify them feels like solving a puzzle with missing pieces. In Always My Child, Kevin Jennings supplies the missing pieces by guiding parents through the world their child inhabits. He explains what these teens often encounter -- teasing and harassment -- and offers solutions for parents who want to better understand their LGBTQ children and learn how to protect their self-esteem. He offers advice, including how to: * Initiate constructive communication with their child * Respond effectively to frequently asked questions * Recognize depression and signs of drug abuse and harassment * Successfully advocate for their child's well-being outside the home Always My Child makes it possible for parents to create the kind of relationship with their children that allows them to grow into emotionally healthy adults.

Reviews

Michael Thompson coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys Kevin Jennings provides the kind of wise counsel that will help parents preserve their relationships with their children. He helps us to understand the stages of understanding through which all children and families need to pass in order to achieve family peace. Judy Shepard executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Every parent should read this book. It's a wonderful resource that I wish had been available to me.

Author Bio

Kevin Jennings is cofounder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). A graduate of Harvard, he lives in New York.