Gender dysphoria and transgender children: the role of parents
Gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder is the medical diagnosis for those who have a strong identification with the opposite biological sex
Some people do not feel they belong to either category and reject any gender affiliation.
Gender dysphoria in children
As soon as children begin to use verbal language, they almost always perceive a gender identity that conforms to their biological sex.
Usually, children perceive themselves as male and female, some as gender fluid or no gender at all.
Around the age of two, the child is aware of the physical differences between boys and girls, around the age of four he or she is clear about his or her gender identity and behaves according to his or her roles when it comes to choosing clothes, games and toys.
With development, this perception regarding one’s identity may become less clear.
It may happen that a boy wants to use girls’ clothes or girls’ toys, that he feels disgust for his own genitals and that there is a clear rejection of his penis, testicles or vagina, the boy may insist on sitting down to pee, and the girl-child may reject breasts and the appearance of menstruation.
The idea that these children have of themselves is that they do not belong to the sex assigned at birth, they feel instead that they belong to the opposite sex or to no gender at all.
For some children, the identification with the other gender is temporary, for others the perception becomes constant and lasting over time and this, will lead them to become transgender adults.
The causes are biological, social and psychological, although there is no confirmation that there is a correlation between transgenderism, parental care and childhood trauma.
Gender dysphoria, the role of parents
It is essential that parents adopt an attitude characterised by acceptance, understanding and unconditional love towards their child.
The child with an atypical gender identity organisation must feel loved, not judged and accepted for who they feel they are deep down.
The therapeutic goal for the child’s well-being must be to transform what is considered at the outset to be a ‘disorder’ into a definition of the individual’s inner physiognomy.
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