Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Daughter with ROGD - issues with school

317 replies

Hoggirl765 · 25/07/2018 17:06

My daughter presents with ROGD. Her school is going forward with affirming this by way of calling her by her boys name and male pronouns. That's all so far. This despite our repeated requests to step back and watch and wait - to go at our pace as a family (basically back off). She has had a lot of emotional upheaval in her short life and has always found it hard to fit in. We have found a wonderful counsellor and that's all we're prepared to do at present. She is just 14 and at present is very enthusiastic and keyed into her school work and in general seems happy. No self harm etc. The school have caused us as a family so much unnecessary stress and then said that's it you'll have to wait til September now. If it wasn't for the excellent teaching we would be moving her. Has anyone else has experiences with unsupportive, insensitive or unsympathetic schools?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Bespin · 26/07/2018 08:00

What ever happened to supporting their child? We should be listening to what our children want to do and make our decisions based off that.

can not say this enough

Bespin · 26/07/2018 07:57

LemonJello

you can stop them going on the internet at home but they will go to friends and go. on. they will use there phone and go on. they will do it without you knowing my advise is always to do it with them or. the alternative is that you stop them not going out or seeing there firends. I alway ls find it better if a young person can do something with you so you can guide them then hide it and be unguided through this don't you.

Thatjourno · 26/07/2018 07:56

What ever happened to supporting their child? We should be listening to what our children want to do and make our decisions based off that. It's not hard really. If you have a trans child then support them, if they decide to transition and then detranstion, then support them, if it's a phase (we've all had them), then support them. My eldest wanted to change her name to a boys one, dressed as boy and so on, after a few months she decided she didn't want to. Guess what I did? Supported her in every way I could because I wanted her to be happy. She may transition again in the future when the time is right for her (she uses female pronouns). We should all be supporting our children not challenging them, taking away their Internet and banning them from friends. If you do that, that's abuse I'm afraid.

happydappy2 · 26/07/2018 07:53

snappity no one is misgendering the child, as we are all talking under pseudonyms-we are trying to support the OP whose main concern right now is how quickly the school is rushing into using male pronouns, rather than using a balanced approach. This is a support forum for Mums-if you haven’t anything constructive to say then stop posting yr vile poison & go away

Floisme · 26/07/2018 07:52

Op I can't really advise but Flowers

You sound like a great parent.

The school have totally undermined you and I would find it very hard to ever trust them again.

LemonJello · 26/07/2018 07:52

This thread is really disturbing.

The fervour that some posters have to push their agendas now that it’s not theoretical and there is a real child involved.

“Affirm them or you are a danger to your own child!”
“Don’t stop them going on the Internet!”

Creepy as fuck.

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 07:51

Snappity. I could counter attack your agenda. However, I realise that you need to win. Nothing I or others will say will stop you from getting the last word.
This is my last word to you however

I am a parent. Don’t participate if you are not.

Starkstaring · 26/07/2018 07:50

Truth will win, thank you for your posts. Having a child identify as transgender in the current climate is extremely hard to cope with. I have cried more in the last two years than many people in a lifetime. I hope you are getting some support too.

Most parents want to protect their children from harm. Being told you are bigoted and risking your child's suicide if you do not support something which every fibre of your being knows is not the answer to your child's problems and may well lead to being surgically altered and medicated for life, is profoundly and uniquely distressing.

I also know that if my child had been born 5 years earlier or 5 years later she would not now be trans. You can quote me on that.

AgonyBeetle · 26/07/2018 07:50

The thing is, it’s not just about the school supporting the child to cut their hair short and change to an androgynous version of their given name. If that was the case, then all the pro-acceptance arguments would make complete sense.

But what’s actually at stake is whether or not it’s acceptable for the school to actively collude, against the parents’ expressed wishes, with pushing a child into a pathway of life-long medicalisation, with unknown long-term implications for their physical and mental health.

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 07:46

Hattie.
How can you be interested in what I say yet scroll on past my post?
Actually don’t get this.
Now if you are only interested in your view I get it it. This is not about you though. This is a parent who has a child who is identifying as trans. I reckon I am on a better position to comment. Even if the OP disagrees at least we have the same common ground. If you don’t want to hear my voice feel free to scroll past me. But unless you have a child that is trans give me the courtesy to listen to my voice. My voice is valid whether you agree or disagree. It is real and heartfelt. It is not hysterical. You can tell I reject that word. The only time I have heard this being used is from a man. Are you a man?

Snappity · 26/07/2018 07:40

The right to personal integrity and identity is an human right. The OP's child is entitled to that too. That is the point about human rights - we do not get to choose who has them and who doesn't.

The OP's child is used to that respect and affirmation from school. We know that. Taking that away over summer is something that worries me. I can't see why more people aren't worried about that.

This is what the Royal College of Psychiatrists says

“The College believes that a watch and wait policy, which does not place any pressure on children to live or behave in accordance with their sex assigned at birth or to move rapidly to gender transition, may be an appropriate course of action when young people first present.”

When we have a child who is expressing a male gender identity at school, if that child isn't allowed to express that gender identity or is publicly gendered contrary to that gender identity that is placing pressure on the child to live or behave in the gender assigned at birth and is therefore directly contrary to the Royal College of Psychiatrists policy of watch and wait. It is unbelievable that I am being attacked for promoting watch and wait as it is defined by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.. Watch and wait does not and cannot mean doing nothing. I understand that it doesn't mean pushing a child but if a child expresses a trans identity it should be accepted. That's the professional position.

Maybe some people weren't aware and will now accept that they have given the OP the wrong advice. www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases2018/transgenderpositionstatement.aspx?theme=mobile

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 07:29

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Bespin · 26/07/2018 07:23

this post seems to have gotten away from offering support to the Op and that is sad. some of the posts are really helpful advice and some are not so. doing anything that forcefully restricts young people like no Internet access or no firends will never have the effect parents think it will they will always find away round it and it will only serve to enforce to them that they can not talk to you about things because when they do you react negatively towards them. rationing things with clear rationale is the way to give young people ownership of something. as a lot of posters have said these thoughts can be very intense in the beginning as young people will often think they have found the solution to all there issues. it takes time for them. to realise that this is not the answer to everything and that even if they are trans they will. Still have lots of the same issues, if as some posters have said the young person does not see it as a big deal then it's not a big deal so there is no need for a big reaction to it. I have had a lot of young people say that blockers are the thing they need and are frustrated that they can not just get them. young people do expect things to just happen intently. on. the whole given modern social media and that anything can be got straight away. when you actually sit down with them and go through the reasons that can not just happen then they are usually understanding of that, you can then also. look at the alternative things they can do that allow them to express themselves. this may lead them to other definitions of who they are, but you have to be prepared for if your child consistently returns to this that they may need support in exploring it. when I have talked to parents and young people expecially older ones we have often talked about competing needs like exams and university and that any transition as to fit into all these things so needs to be a to be at a pace that allows them to also focus on these things, and that if this is who they are then it will still be there and can still be addressed.

on misgendering in this thread both can be correct as we don't know the young person's views on this unless the poster says they want me to use male pronouns at home and I just don't which I don't think they did then we could just use they and them. again I have talked to a lot of young people who just expect families to get it and get frustrated when they don't or get it wrong and we usually talk about how long they have been thinking about this, which in truth is usually a lot longer than a month and how long it took them to understand it and that maybe mum and dad need that time too and that they may always get it wrong.

Not everyone who is trans on here is the same or holds the same views just as people who are gender critical are not all the same so I hope we can get back to offering support to someone.

HattieAndHerBoy · 26/07/2018 07:15

Hysterical my arse. Obviously you have no idea

As you wish

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 07:07

Hysterical my arse. Obviously you have no idea

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 07:06

TimesLady. Thank you.
It is now morning and I hope the OP hasn’t be scared off. This is not my intention. I hope the OP realise how fraught this is. I could have lied and said it’s Ok and don’t worry. Sadly we are on a situation where fantasy is realty. I hate knowing that some other parent is going through what I am. If the parent is happy to affirm my words are meaningless. If I can do a little to let others know my truth I have done my bit. There are always 2 sides to a debate. My side is err on the side of caution. This has helped me immensely throughout my life. I hope other parents here who are faced with this will see that there may well be a psychological issue behind this or a
Contagious issue. It really isn’t that difficult to grasp when you are older. It’s bed time for me.
Snappity. Speak out. You are good at this. When you get someone else to challenge me I know I have done my job. I win. Goodnight

HattieAndHerBoy · 26/07/2018 07:03

Truth, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you and I say hurt you because I absolutely detest the politically correct ‘offend you’.

I’m really interested in what you have to say and I’m glad people here are challenging the likes of Snappity. But to be honest you do come across as rather hysterical at times and rather than make me and perhaps others read on it’s only made me scroll through to the next post. I get what you’re saying but I think it could be better said.

I understand your living with heartbreak, that much is clear even though I don’t know your story in detail, but having also lived with heartbreak and at times expressed it the way you have I know it can be counter productive.

Again, I’m very sorry for hurting you and I wish you nothing but peace of heart and mind.

TimeLady · 26/07/2018 06:56

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ as it quotes a deleted post. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

TimeLady · 26/07/2018 06:51

Heartfelt testaments such as yours on threads like these are unbelievably powerful, Truthwillwin, and shine a spotlight on the grooming and potentially abusie nature of the transgender agenda.

Flowers (but what I really wish for you is some restful sleep)

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 06:40

I can’t help it. Here is another parent who might be going through the shit that I’m dealing with and the likes of Snappity and her or his allies try to say we are abusive. Oh my lord I wish it was as easy as Snappity says. I wish this meant nothing to me. I wish I could stop crying and realise it is normal. I wish I could escape it all. I can’t.

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 06:35

Thanks.

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 06:34

That’s for Hattie

TimeLady · 26/07/2018 06:33

Truthwillwin. Please don't get upset or further riled by the goading posts above. We parents can hear your anguish and you have our full support.

Those furthering the transagenda on threads such as this only serve to peak trans more lurkers.

Truthwillwin · 26/07/2018 06:32

Actually I disagree. If you are going through what I am you would not say this. I think you probably need to be on this position to understand. It is easy being the outsider. Unless you can walk on my shoes you will understand. If you have then I apologise I think I am doing well and highlighting the nonsense a our kids are hearing. But I’m big enough not to care. I think you do me a disservice. If I’m not putting myself across on a politically correct way I can assure you this is intentional. Why? Because political correctness will not help our kids. We need to get back to truth. If you can’t handle this truththat is your right. My truth in my opinion trumps yours

TimeLady · 26/07/2018 06:27

I think Snappity's input pretty much sums up the type of insidious grooming that young people are being subjected to online.

I hope MNHQ allows Snappity and Truthwillwin's debate on this thread to stand.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.

Swipe left for the next trending thread