If you have young children in your family and are wondering about when/how to talk to them about the LGBT community, remember that children do not think about things the same way we adults do (no need to go into complex details).  There has been a good amount of research that shows that you can keep it simple with kids when it comes to telling them about gay relationships.  Think about it, would you get into details when explaining a boy+girl couple? Unfortunately, most children are only introduced to boy+girl couples.  Be it through tv, books, family, etc.  It can be as simple as “some families are made with a mom + dad, mom +mom or dad+dad.

We think it would be GREAT if children were exposed to more diverse definitions of family at a younger age.  Many opponents of same-sex couples will tell you that it is not healthy to introduce children to same-sex couples/families at a young age but you really have to dig and learn where that opinion is coming from.  There are ZERO studies that show that same sex couples are not good for children.   Remember, interracial couples were once just as taboo as same sex couples.  Fact is, there are multiple studies that confirm that same sex couples are in no way harmful towards children.  The only damage, harm or negativity comes from mis-informed adults.  And guess what, those mis-informed adults raise mis-informed children.

Bottom line, don’t be afraid to introduce your children to the LGBT community.  Keep it simple.  If you are thinking about telling your child/toddler about a gay family member:

• Ask that family member first if they are comfortable with you sharing with your child
• Don’t make a big deal out of it.  “Mommy loves daddy and Uncle Mike loves Nick”. <– THAT SIMPLE.
• Don’t associate negativity with being gay

Some great resources for parents:

-Amazon list of books on talking to your kids about the LGBT community.  Check it out!

-Check out this GREAT blog on baby zone about talking to your toddlers about gay family members.  Check it out here!

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments.  We would love to hear from you! This is probably the most important thing we are writing about and we take it very seriously.  It all starts with the parents.