How can I support my AroAce child amid family tension?

[UndeadPig]

My child just came out to me, saying they are AroAce. I didn't know what that meant, so I was a bit confused and didn't know what to say. I just said I support you no matter what. However, when they told my husband, he was less supportive, saying, "You simply haven't found the right person yet." My child was distraught, and now I don't know what to do. There is so much tension in the house. They refuse to see each other any more, and we can't even have a family dinner anymore. If anyone has any experience, please let me know what to do.

Your child is clearly spending too much time online and seems to want to have a label rather than just living their life. How on earth would you support them? Tell them to get on with it and stop stropping around like a bloody toddler because their dad isn’t fawning over them and their new “identity”.

GnR listeners would be more likely to self-describe as "Slash fan" than "slash lover".

Have you heard the phrase "to nail one's colours to the mast"? Once someone has claimed a label and disclosed it to others, it's harder for them to reconsider whether the label is still an accurate self-description.

I 100% knew I didn't want kids aged 13, but that doesn't mean that declaring myself "childfree" at that age would have been sensible or necessary.

Children and teens need not to be labelled because they often do change their minds. That a minority don't change their minds doesn't create a need for labels.

I 100% knew I didn't want kids at age 13 as well. My two kids are now sleeping upstairs. I'd have probably declared myself non binary as well if I was born 20 years later. Thank goodness we have the freedom to either stick to or depart from what our teenage selves declared. I don't think labels are helpful here.

AroAce sounds like a daredevil pilot. Have you misunderstood and your child is saying they want to be a pilot in the Red Arrows or something?