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from Parenting & Family
Advice Columnist Recommends Gay Youth Counseling Programs For Parents
February 20, 2006 -
Marguerite Kelly, an advice columnist for the Washington Post
recently published a letter from parents whose son has just told them he
thinks he's gay.
The mother told Kelly, "My husband and I have an appointment to see a
therapist this week - someone we know and trust - to find out what we
should do to help and support our son and also to support ourselves.
What else can we do? And how is someone sure that he - or she - is gay?"
Kelly responds that most gay and lesbians "usually know that they are
homosexual by their teens ... but that's not always the case."
Kelly says that junior or senior high girls will decide they're lesbians
for a semester and then change their minds "when the fad goes away." She
also says that some "adults change from heterosexual to bisexual to
homosexual and back again over a 30-to-40-year period. But don't count
on that."
The columnist advises the parents to accept their son's homosexuality
and to seek a counselor who is "kind and experienced in this field." She
also urges the parents to contact the National Youth Advocacy Coalition,
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and recommends
several gay-affirmative books for them to read.
Marguerite Kelly's email address is: advice@margueritekelly.com.
Additional Reading: Tips For Parents Who Are Struggling With A Child's Homosexuality;
Gender Complementarity and Child-rearing: Where Tradition and Science Agree;
Excerpt from A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality;
Adolescent Homosexuality;
The World According to PFLAG: Why PFLAG and Children Don't Mix
Updated: 8 February 2008
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