A simple, personal action we invite you to take is to share your story anonymously at Family Stories. This has several benefits:
It’s private – You can share your experience anonymously.
It helps you practice telling your story – Sometimes reading our own stories gives us insight and practice telling our story that can be helpful as we eventually talk with others.
It becomes a resource for others – Parents visiting our pages can find stories from parents in similarly sized towns, geography, or family situations. You can be a help and encouragement to others.
Wherever you are in your story, it can help others – Hearing stories from many perspectives is helpful to others finding their way.
Coming out as a parent can be gradual or sudden. As your child becomes more open, it’s important that you become more open, keeping pace to provide encouragement and emotional help. Parent support begins with being an ally, a safe person to trust, but each additional step you take strengthens your child’s awareness that you are with them on their journey.
As you take actions to be more supportive, it’s important to remember this is not your story — it’s your child’s story. Take care to not “out” your child beyond their wishes. To help with this, we have organized suggestions in increasingly public steps. These steps help chart a path from actions that protect your child’s privacy to public actions as your child becomes more public. In this guide we cover: